HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Carol Mills

Simon Burns: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  what the status is of the letter that Mr Speaker sent to the Prime Minister recommending Ms Mills' appointment as the new Clerk of the House and Chief Executive;
	(2)  whether the letter that Mr Speaker sent to the Prime Minister recommending Ms Mills' appointment as the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive will be recalled.

John Thurso: Ms Mills' name has not yet been submitted as Under Clerk of the Parliaments (Clerk of the House of Commons and Chief Executive) to Her Majesty the Queen for approval. Mr Speaker has written to the Prime Minister asking that its submission be delayed until a clear way forward on this issue has been agreed.

Clerk of the House

Simon Burns: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission with make available to the right hon. Member for Chelmsford all the records of all the discussions of the panel considering the appointment of the new Clerk of the House and Chief Executive.

John Thurso: Records relating to the appointment of the new Clerk of the House and Chief Executive constitute the personal data of the applicants. It is not the Commission's practice to disclose confidential personal information of this nature.

Clerk of the House

Simon Burns: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, columns 607-8W, on Clerk of the House, what percentage of the first year’s salary of any candidate recommended for appointment Saxton Bampfylde is contracted to receive.

John Thurso: Saxton Bampfylde was contracted for a flat fee of £18,000 to provide support for the recruitment of the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive. There is no salary related element.

Palace of Westminster

Angus Robertson: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the total expenditure on essential maintenance of the Palace of Westminster was in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; what the Commons contribution was in each such year; and what estimate he has made of the likely increase in such costs in the next two financial years.

John Thurso: The total expenditure on essential maintenance of the Palace of Westminster and the Commons contribution was as follows:
	2009-10: £8.9 million, Commons share: £5.5 million
	2010-11: £9.6 million, Commons share: £6.0 million.
	Essential maintenance has been interpreted to include planned and reactive day-to-day maintenance plus resource project works in excess of £25,000. It excludes staff costs and capital projects such as cast iron roofs repairs and the Medium Term Mechanical and Electrical project.
	While the Medium Term Financial Plan, which covers the next two financial years has not yet been agreed, essential maintenance is expected to be in line with previous years subject to inflation.

CABINET OFFICE

Big Lottery Fund

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will take steps to revise the criteria for awarding grants to ensure that organisations less than two years old cannot apply for grants from the Big Lottery Fund.

Brooks Newmark: The Big Lottery Fund is independent of government in its decision-making on funding and grant awards.

Big Society Network

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  which Minister authorised the decision to refer the bids from the Big Lottery Fund and the Cabinet Office to the Big Society Network and the Society Network Foundation back to the Social Investment Business;
	(2)  which grade of officials in his Department made the decision to refer the bids for grants from the Big Lottery Fund and the Cabinet Office to the Big Society Network and the Society Network Foundation back to the Social Investment Business;
	(3)  which officials in his Department made the decision to refer the bids for grants from the Big Lottery Fund to the Big Society Network and the Society Network Foundation back to the Social Investment Business;
	(4)  which official in his Department authorised the Cabinet Office's payment to the Society Network Foundation for the Get In project in October 2012;
	(5)  which Minister authorised the Cabinet Office's payment to the Society Network Foundation for the Get In project in October 2012.

Brooks Newmark: Decisions taken regarding the Cabinet Office’s Social Action Fund grant to Society Network Foundation, made through the Social Investment Business, were made via the designated decision-making mechanism for this programme—the Minister for Civil Society, supported by the programme’s Advisory Panel.
	The Big Lottery Fund is independent from Government in its decision-making on specific funding and grant awards, and no Ministers or Cabinet Office officials had any involvement in any decisions taken by them regarding the grants made to the Society Network Foundation or Big Society Network.

Big Society Network

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether his Department has approached (a) NESTA and (b) Big Lottery to request them to fund the Big Society Network or the Social Network Foundation;
	(2)  how many discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department had with the Big Lottery fund prior to that organisation approaching the Big Society Network to apply for a grant;
	(3)  what recent discussions his Department has had with NESTA on funding the Big Society Network.

Brooks Newmark: The Cabinet Office has not had any discussions with NESTA regarding funding for the Big Society Network, and did not approach NESTA or Big Lottery Fund and ask them to fund the Big Society Network.
	No discussions with Big Lottery Fund concerning the Society Network Foundation or Big Society Network were held by either Cabinet Office Ministers or Officials.
	Cabinet Office holds regular sponsorship meetings with Big Lottery Fund, which cover governance, accounting and efficiency issues but not funding applications or decisions.

Big Society Network

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  for what reasons his Department made a second payment to the Society Network Foundation for the Get In project in October 2012;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to recover the money spent on the Get In project.

Brooks Newmark: The Get In project experienced difficulties in its first quarter. The Cabinet Office worked with Society Network Foundation to assess whether these difficulties could be overcome. When it was concluded that they could not, the project was stopped and Cabinet Office paid only up to that point. This is standard practice when funding small charities to undertake innovative projects.
	The Civil Society Compact states that funders should attempt to support organisations overcome difficulties and should give at least three months’ notice before ending a financial relationship with a charitable organisation.
	The Social Investment Business is currently following their standard procedure to investigate and take appropriate action where funds received by Social Network Foundation for the Get In project may not have been used for the purposes for which the grant was given.
	Regarding grant funds spent on the Get In project, Cabinet Office would not normally seek to recover funds spent in line with a grant agreement.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by his Department since May 2010.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office has transposed two EU directives into UK law since 2010 and six directly applicable regulations have come into effect in the Cabinet Office’s area of responsibility in the same period.

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much (a) his Department, (b) the Prime Minister's Office and (c) the Deputy Prime Minister's Office spent on televisions in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister’s Office and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office are an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd) to the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Michael Dugher) on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 170W.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Lyn Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of regional variations in participation in the National Citizen Service;
	(2)  how much his Department has allocated to the National Citizen Service in the 2014-15 financial year;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of people enrolled in the National Citizen Service.

Brooks Newmark: Successive independent evaluations have shown that National Citizen Service has seen significant growth in participation across England and Northern Ireland, with the programme seeing its 100,000th participant this year. The programme is delivered by regional providers who are performance managed by the NCS Trust, an independent not-for-profit organisation. Regional performance is regularly monitored, along with other factors including quality of NCS delivery and the social mix of participants.
	An independent evaluation of NCS will be published by Cabinet Office in 2015, after the conclusion of the 2014 NCS programmes, and will detail the costs and number of young participants during 2014.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the internal review by her Department which upheld an appeal against the use of regulation 12(5)(c) for the protection of intellectual property to prevent the release of the results of the post-mortems carried out on badgers killed during the pilot culls;
	(2)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the internal review by her Department which upheld an appeal against the use of regulation 12(5)(c) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 in relation to the results of the post-mortems carried out on badgers killed during the pilot culls.

George Eustice: My officials have explained the handling of this case in separate correspondence. No such internal review took place as your initial request was made in a parliamentary question. The information on the post-mortems carried out during the culls as part of the monitoring of the humaneness of controlled shooting is now publicly available and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/300388/humaneness-report.pdf

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce new guidelines to protect the welfare of dogs in cars; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government already makes available up-to-date advice to owners when travelling with their dogs in cars. The advice is available on the gov.uk website:
	https://www.gov.uk/animal-welfare-in-severe-weather

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by her Department since May 2010.

George Eustice: According to departmental records, DEFRA has transposed a total of 36 EU directives into UK law since May 2010, nine of which were transposed without the need to introduce new legislation.
	We do not hold a central record of all directly applicable EU regulations coming into effect since 2010. Details of all current European legislation are on the Euro-Lex website:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/browse/summaries.html

Livestock: Transport

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that laws relating to the export of live animals are adhered to at ports; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is responsible for official controls (including risk-based inspections and checks at ports) in relation to rules on the export of live animals. These controls must be consistent with the relevant animal health and welfare legislation. Where animal welfare non-compliances are discovered, AHVLA will take the appropriate regulatory action and, where necessary, refer the matter to the local authority for enforcement action.

SCOTLAND

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office spend on the purchase of televisions was (a) £1,351.69 in 2013, and (b) £539.96 to date in 2014.

EDUCATION

Chemistry: Teachers

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will increase the funding available for bursaries for chemistry Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses.

David Laws: Bursaries for pre-initial teacher training subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are intended to support course participants’ travel and living costs while they are on the course, and are paid in line with the length of the course. The SKE operations manual contains more detail about funding levels and eligibility criteria for SKE training bursaries. We believe that existing SKE bursary levels are sufficient to meet participants’ needs and continue to see strong take-up of SKE courses. We will consider any representations from SKE course participants or providers on bursary funding levels.

Childminding

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  when she plans to publish the results of the report on her Department's childminder agency pilots;
	(2)  how many (a) childminders and (b) parents responded to the IPSOS Mori and Ecorys survey on childminder agencies; when the results of the survey will be published; and how likely (i) childminders and (ii) parents who responded to the survey were to use a childminder agency.

Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education published a report which captures key learning from the evaluation of the childminder agency trials on Friday 5 September which is available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/childminder-agency-trial-evaluation
	Evidence for the evaluation was gathered through a variety of methods including case study interviews or focus groups with representatives from the trials, interviews with childminders and parents, analysis of emerging agency business models and two surveys; one with childminders and one with parents and carers in 15 of the 19 trial areas. 334 childminders and 424 parents and carers responded to surveys as part of the trials. These surveys are not fully representative of local populations of childminders and parents, and are indicative only.

Children: Mental Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer from the Minister of State for Care and Support of 4 June 2014, Official Report, column 102W, on mental illness, what assessment she has made of the impact of these psychiatric conditions on academic attainment levels at GCSE, A levels, Degree and Post Graduate Degree level.

Edward Timpson: The last official assessment of the levels of psychiatric conditions in young people was published in 2004 by the Office of National Statistics, the ‘Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain’1.
	This found that across the general school population 24% of pupils were assessed as being behind in their schooling, with 9% assessed as being two or more years behind.
	For those with clinically diagnosed mental health conditions the percentages were:
	1. Conduct disorders—59% of children with conduct disorders were behind in their intellectual development, with 36% being two or more years behind
	2. Emotional disorders—44% of children with an emotional disorder were behind in their intellectual development, with 23% being two or more years behind
	3. Hyperkinetic disorders—65% of children with hyperkinetic disorders were behind in their intellectual development, with 18% being three or more years behind
	4. Autistic spectrum disorders—72% of children with autistic spectrum disorders were behind in their intellectual development, with 39% being two or more years behind
	5. Multiple disorders—63% of children with multiple disorders were behind in their intellectual development, with 40% being two or more years behind.
	We recognise that early identification of mental health issues in children and young people and the provision of appropriate support and treatment can be key to educational attainment, and making a successful transition to adulthood. This is reflected in our advice and guidance to schools.
	In June we published advice for schools on mental health and behaviour, helping them to identify and support pupils with unmet needs. The new 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice, which came into effect this month, has a new category of needs entitled Social, Emotional and Mental Health. It promotes the earlier identification of an individual’s mental health needs and sets the expectation that children who are displaying concerning behaviours should be assessed to see if there are any underlying problems, including issues with mental health or emotional well-being.
	The new MindEd web portal, funded by the Department of Health, provides more specific training and guidance on mental health to all professionals working with children and young people.
	1 Available at:
	www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/mentalhealth04

Pre-school Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of the large nursery chains offer funded places for two year olds as part of the Government's free 15 hours of early education for disadvantaged two year olds; and how many such places are offered in England.

Sam Gyimah: The Government does not collect this data. Data on Government funded early education, including early learning for two-year-olds is available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/provision-for-children-under-5-years-of-age-january-2014
	The Government encourages all high-quality early education providers to offer places for disadvantaged two-year-olds. The data published above shows that in January 2014 over 14,000 providers were delivering places for early learning for two-year-olds. This is very significant progress in advance of the 40% entitlement. The Government expects many more providers, including those in the large nursery chains, to offer places now the 40% entitlement has commenced.

Prevent Review

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  if she will publish detailed information on what work her Department has undertaken to implement paragraphs 10.49 and 10.55 of the Government's Review of the Prevent Agenda, published in June 2011; and if she will publish any assessments conducted into the effectiveness of that work;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Education Act 2011 in achieving the aims set out in paragraph 10.53 of the Government's Review of the Prevent Agenda, published in June 2011.

Edward Timpson: Keeping our children safe, and ensuring our schools prepare them for life in modern Britain, could not be more important. There is no place for extremist views in any school. A dedicated counter-extremism unit was established within the Department for Education in 2010 and has responsibility for implementing the commitments in the Prevent strategy. The Secretary of State's statement to the House on 22 July, in response to Peter Clarke's report into allegations about schools in Birmingham, set out the latest steps that the Government is taking to increase the resilience of schools to extremism, and the Secretary of State will be making a further statement to the House on this subject shortly.
	Publicly-funded schools remain under a statutory duty to promote community cohesion and have an important part to play in supporting the creation of more integrated communities. This duty is complemented and reinforced by the requirements on schools to encourage respect for the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. The Department has consulted on strengthening the independent schools standards, which apply to academies and free schools, to require schools to actively promote these values. Ofsted will introduce an equivalent expectation on maintained schools through changes to the Ofsted inspection framework later this year, supported by departmental guidance.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to her Department's press notice of 16 July 2014 on pupil premium reform, to which 87 local authorities where performance of disadvantaged pupils is a concern the Minister of State for Schools wrote.

David Laws: I wrote to 87 local authorities in March and April 2014, raising my concern about the 2013 examination results of disadvantaged pupils in particular maintained schools within their areas, and asking them to support those schools’ improvement. The recipient list and criteria are below and will be published on GOV.UK shortly.
	Letters were sent to local authorities where ministerial letters had been sent in the spring to a small number of maintained schools expressing concern about the progress of disadvantaged pupils at key stage 2, and the progress and/or overall attainment of disadvantaged pupils at key stage 4. Letters were also sent to local authorities where the average GCSE results of disadvantaged pupils across all of their maintained schools declined between 2011 and 2013 or between 2012 and 2013.
	Local authorities in receipt of letters:
	Barking and Dagenham
	Barnsley
	Bath and North East Somerset
	Birmingham
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Blackpool
	Bolton
	Bracknell Forest
	Bradford
	Brent
	Bristol
	Buckinghamshire
	Bury
	Cambridgeshire
	Central Bedfordshire
	Cheshire East
	Cornwall
	Cumbria
	Derbyshire
	Devon
	Doncaster
	Dorset
	Dudley
	Durham
	East Sussex
	Essex
	Gateshead
	Gloucestershire
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Hampshire
	Hartlepool
	Hertfordshire
	Isle of Wight
	Kent
	Kirklees
	Knowsley
	Lancashire
	Leeds
	Leicester city
	Leicestershire
	Lincolnshire
	Manchester
	Merton
	Norfolk
	North Lincolnshire
	North Somerset
	North Yorkshire
	Northamptonshire
	Northumberland
	Nottingham City
	Nottinghamshire
	Oxfordshire
	Peterborough
	Portsmouth
	Richmond upon Thames
	Rotherham
	Salford
	Sandwell
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	Shropshire
	Slough
	Somerset
	South Gloucestershire
	Southampton
	Southend
	Staffordshire
	Stockport
	Stockton-on-Tees
	Stoke on Trent
	Suffolk
	Surrey
	Swindon
	Tameside
	Trafford
	Wakefield
	Walsall
	Warrington
	Warwickshire
	West Berkshire
	West Sussex
	Wigan
	Wiltshire
	Wirral
	Wolverhampton
	Worcestershire
	York

Science: Teachers

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) pre-ITT and (b) post-ITT Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses were taken in (i) chemistry, (ii) biology and (iii) physics in the last five years.

David Laws: The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) (and its predecessor) have not allocated places or funding to support Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) for the subject of biology meaning only physics and chemistry can be reported on.
	Although the academic year 2013/14 has now concluded, the recruitment data for this period will not be collected until November 2014. The table at Figure 1. below is, therefore, limited to recruitment data supplied by SKE providers for each of the four academic years prior to the academic year 2013/14. Furthermore, funding for post-ITT SKE only began in the academic year 2011/12 and so is not applicable to academic years 2009/10 or 2010/11.
	
		
			 Fig. 1 Pre and post ITT recruitment from the academic year 2009/10 to the academic year 2012/13 in SKE for physics and chemistry 
			  Physics Chemistry 
			 Academic Year Pre-ITT Post-ITT Pre-ITT Post-ITT 
			 2012/13 437 253 474 159 
			 2011/12 509 139 574 87 
			 2010/11 590 n/a 522 n/a 
			 2009/10 673 n/a 577 n/a

Social Services: Children

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will review the way in which local authorities carry out their responsibilities for corporate parenting and take any steps needed to ensure that training for councillors involved in that role is both adequate and up-to-date.

Edward Timpson: We expect all local authorities to be good corporate parents to the children in their care. The standard of corporate parenting is subject to regular review as part of Ofsted inspection. In particular, Ofsted judgments about the quality of leadership assess the extent to which the local authority is an active, strong and committed corporate parent that knows the children and young people it looks after well; is an effective and successful champion of their progress (particularly in education and learning); and an ambitious corporate parent, ensuring that each child has every opportunity to succeed.
	We recognise that effective corporate parenting is everyone's business and have consequently funded work by the National Children's Bureau (NCB) to raise awareness of corporate parenting among elected members. This project brings local authority members and directors of children's services together with children in care councils to enhance the voice of the child and spread good practice. The project has also produced training materials which are available to all local authorities.

Special Educational Needs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether her Department conducted a financial impact assessment of the effects of the most recent Education Financial Settlement on students with special educational needs.

David Laws: On 17 July, I announced changes to the way that school funding would be distributed next year. These included the allocation of £390 million extra schools funding to the least fairly funded local authorities, and some small improvements to the allocation of funds for pupils and students with special educational needs (SEN). The Department for Education consulted on how to allocate the additional funding, and carefully considered the impact of the funding distribution methodology on individual local authorities' ability to meet the needs of such young people. No authority will be worse off as a result of the changes. All authorities should, therefore, be in a position to ensure that all pupils in their area with SEN get the level of support that they require.

Teachers: Disciplinary Proceedings

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many occasions in the last 12 months decision-makers within her Department have issued sanctions to teachers after disciplinary hearings that have differed from the sanctions recommended by the Professional Conduct Panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership; and in what respects those sanctions have differed from the recommended sanctions.

David Laws: In the period 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2014, decision makers issued sanctions to teachers after disciplinary hearings that differed from the sanctions recommended by the Professional Conduct Panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) on seven occasions. Details are included within the table below.
	
		
			 Number of cases Recommendation of panel Final decision 
			 3 No prohibition. Prohibition for life with opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside after a minimum period of two years. 
			 3 Prohibition for life with opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside after a minimum period of five years. Prohibition for life with no opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside. 
			 1 Prohibition for life with opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside after a minimum period of 10 years. Prohibition for life with no opportunity to apply for the order to be set aside.

JUSTICE

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by his Department since May 2010.

Shailesh Vara: Since May 2010, my Department has transposed five EU Directives into UK law.
	In the same period, two EU Regulations with application to the UK (either where the UK has exercised its Title V Justice and Home Affairs opt-in, or where no opt-in exists) have come into force and now apply. Two further Regulations in which the UK will participate have come into force, but do not yet apply.

European Convention on Human Rights

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on reform of the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.

Shailesh Vara: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 1 September 2014, Parliament identifying number 206542.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ashya King

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that relatives of Ashya King other than his parents are being facilitated to accompany him (a) whilst in hospital in Spain and (b) on his return journey to the UK; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Consular officials in Spain have been in regular contact with Ashya’s family since he was located and supported his elder brothers in securing daily access to Ashya while in hospital from 0900 to 2200.

Business: Human Rights

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Home Office on UK efforts to support the protection of human rights in the supply chains for UK companies and products.

David Lidington: Last September, the UK became the first country to launch a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. On 11 June the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), together with the Minister for Modem Slavery and Organised Crime, my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley), and the Minister for Consumer Affairs and Employment Relations, the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson), held a roundtable discussion with a number of companies and bodies representing business interests, including the British Retail Consortium and the Ethical Trading Initiative, on the voluntary approach to addressing human rights abuses in the supply chains of large UK companies. Our action on tackling slavery in supply chains is consistent with our commitment on business and human rights as set out in our National Action Plan.

Climate Change

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of his Department's work on climate change; and what future steps his Department plans to take to support international action on climate change.

James Duddridge: Ministers have endorsed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) climate change priorities, including work with the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative, the Department for Energy and Climate Change and other Government Departments and our global network of climate attaches. This is in support of the Government’s aim of achieving a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the UN in Paris in December 2015. We work closely with international partners, including through FCO Programme Funds. Recent examples of impact include China launching seven regional Emissions Trading Schemes; international promotion of the UK’s Climate Change Act with influence among some 60 countries taking forward climate laws; and under the UK’s 2013 Presidency, the G8 recognising that climate change presents a risk to global security. We also promote UK low carbon and environmental goods and services, with UK exports valued at £3.4 trillion in 2011/12 and UK ranked sixth globally with a market share of 3.7%. Climate change and energy security remain foreign policy priorities for the FCO; we keep future plans under constant review.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by his Department since May 2010.

David Lidington: Since May 2010 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not transposed any EU directives or regulations into UK law.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what fines have been levied on the UK Government for non-compliance with EU directives since November 2012.

David Lidington: The UK Government has not been fined for non-compliance with EU directives since November 2012.

Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress his Department has made on exploring potential funding options for the Causeway British-Irish Exchange Programme.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other Government Departments continue to explore whether ongoing or transitional financial support is available to the Causeway Youth Exchange Programme following the British Council decision to withdraw financial support. We will look at all potential options and endeavour to keep the programme stakeholders updated on progress.

Lesotho

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to assist in the maintenance of peace and stability in Lesotho.

James Duddridge: I am deeply concerned by the current political and security situation in Lesotho. Staff at our high commission in South Africa, who cover our relations with Lesotho, are closely monitoring events and are in close contact with the key political actors. In my statement of 2 September I welcomed the engagement by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and expressed our hope that all Lesotho’s parties will work together to ensure disputes are settled in a peaceful constitutional manner. Lesotho is among the issues I will discuss during my visit to South Africa next week.

Sri Lanka

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the merits of the appointment of a team of experts led by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to assist the investigation into alleged abuses in Sri Lanka.

Hugo Swire: On 26 June, the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), welcomed the appointment of experts to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka. As his statement noted: ‘the inclusion of Martti Artisaahri, Silvia Cartwright and Asma Jahangir completes a strong team with a clear mandate from the UN Human Rights Council’ to investigate alleged violations and abuses on both sides of Sri Lanka’s military conflict. The UK played a key role in securing the investigation.
	The full statement can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-welcomes-announcement-of-un-investigation-team-on-sri-lanka

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

David Lidington: This information is not held centrally. It could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Vehicles

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 726W, on armed forces: vehicles, how many insurance claims relating to Ministry of Defence vehicles were (a) made and (b) paid by his Department on each of the last 10 years.

Philip Dunne: In line with general Government practice, the Ministry of Defence does not normally insure its assets. Claims against the Department arising out of incidents involving its motor vehicles are handled under contract by its third party motor claims administrators, Gallagher Bassett International Limited. The information sought, which is readily available only for the period from 2007-08, is given in the tables:
	
		
			 Number of claims 
			  Class  
			 Received year Motor Third Party Bodily Injury Motor Third Party Property Damage Total 
			 2007-08 241 2,225 2,466 
			 2008-09 299 1,916 2,215 
			 2009-10 295 1,592 1,887 
			 2010-11 325 1,534 1,859 
			 2011-12 341 1,320 1,661 
			 2012-13 295 1,324 1,619 
			 2013-14 285 1,273 1,558 
			 2014-15 to date 66 378 444 
			 Total 2,147 11,562 13,709 
		
	
	
		
			 Number paid 
			  Class  
			 Received year Motor Third Party Bodily Injury Motor Third Party Property Damage Total 
			 2007-08 197 1,098 1,295 
			 2008-09 251 1,091 1,342 
			 2009-10 239 1,033 1,272 
			 2010-11 270 978 1,248 
			 2011-12 287 814 1,101 
			 2012-13 196 826 1,022 
			 2013-14 148 647 795 
			 2014-15 to date 4 74 78 
			 Total 1,592 6,561 8,153

Military Bases: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the investigation into the deaths of soldiers at Abercorn barracks in Ballykinler in December 2012 and February 2013.

Mark Francois: The deaths of two soldiers at Abercorn Barracks are a personal tragedy for their families and loved ones, and our thoughts remain with them. As is normal with the death of Armed Forces personnel in the UK, these have been investigated by the local Home Office police force, in this case the Police Service of Northern Ireland. We understand that they have concluded their investigations and passed their conclusions to the Coroner, who is in the process of establishing formal inquests into the soldiers’ deaths.
	An internal service inquiry has been established by the Army to consider the facts and identify any lessons to prevent anything like this happening again. This is a complex inquiry, involving a significant number of witnesses and, while we are seeking to complete it as soon as possible, determining the findings and recommendations will naturally take time. It is important that the inquiry is conducted properly and given the appropriate space to reach its conclusions. The families have been kept informed throughout.

RAF Brize Norton

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on plans for an air freight terminal at RAF Brize Norton.

Anna Soubry: A modern replacement freight handling facility at RAF Brize Norton is currently planned for delivery early in the next decade.

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency received in each year since 2010; and whether those complaints have been categorised.

Anna Soubry: The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency, now Veterans UK, received the following number of complaints about the standard of customer service received, categorised into the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS), War Pensions Scheme (WPS) and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The number of complaints about standards of customer service from military personnel were only counted from January 2014.
	2010
	AFPS 30
	WPS/AFCS 445
	Total Complaints 475
	2011
	AFPS 15
	WPS/AFCS 420
	Total Complaints 435
	2012
	AFPS 10
	WPS/AFCS 460
	Total Complaints 470
	2013
	AFPS 30
	WPS/AFCS 290
	Total Complaints 320
	2014 (to 31 July)
	AFPS 25
	WPS/AFCS 95
	Military Personnel 10
	Total Complaints 130

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Philip Dunne: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Any expenditure on televisions must be necessary, appropriate, cost-effective and an admissible charge to public funds.

TNT

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many files have been lost by TNT archive services in each year of the existing contract.

Anna Soubry: Since commencement of the Ministry of Defence-TNT Pan Government Records Management Contract on 18 Dec 2003, no files have been lost by TNT archive services.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of Elbit's performance in the Watchkeeper programme.

Philip Dunne: None. UAV Tactical Systems Ltd, a joint venture company owned by Elbit and Thales, is a sub-contractor of Thales UK, the prime contractor for the Watchkeeper programme. It is the responsibility of prime contractors to select and manage the performance of their sub-contractors.

Veterans: Mental Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of veterans who have left the armed forces in the last 20 years have suffered mental illness.

Anna Soubry: Information on the number and percentage of veterans who have left the Armed Forces in the last 20 years and have suffered from mental illness is not held by the Ministry of Defence.
	However, as of March 2014, there were 121,900 ex-Service personnel in receipt of a disablement pension under the War Pension Scheme. Of these, 10,610 (9%) were in receipt of a disablement pension where the recorded condition relates to a mental disorder. As of 31 March 2014, there were 11,165 personnel, who were no longer in Service on 1 August 2014, awarded compensation under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for an injury or illness attributable to Service. Of these, 1,120 (10%) were awarded compensation where the recorded condition relates to a mental disorder.

Warships

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when he expects a decision to be made on the naming of the new Type 26 frigates;
	(2)  what the process is for the naming of Royal Navy ships;
	(3)  if he will name one of the new Type 26 frigates HMS Plymouth.

Philip Dunne: The Ships’ Names and Badges Committee (SNBC) is responsible for considering and assessing the possible names for a new ship or class of ship. The committee considers all names which have been proposed, formally and informally, and presents its recommendations to the Navy Board. The name(s) chosen by the Navy Board are forwarded to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence before being submitted to Her Majesty the Queen for final approval. A final decision with regards to this process is not expected until the Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme has completed its assessment phase and any subsequent investment decisions are complete. The SNBC has noted the proposal to use the name HMS PLYMOUTH.

PRIME MINISTER

Counter-terrorism

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the (a) Home Secretary and (b) the Secretary of State for Defence on protection from terrorism in northern cities following the most recent rise in the terrorism threat level.

David Cameron: I have regular discussions with the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Defence.
	The Government's first priority is to make sure we do everything possible to keep our people safe.

Islamic State

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on plans to refuse entry to UK passport holders suspected of participation in terrorist activities with the Islamic State while in Iraq or Syria; and whether in such discussions he has set out to which other countries he expects such passport holders to go after exclusion.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 1 September 2014, Official Report, columns 23-27.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Atos Healthcare: Gloucestershire

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many medically qualified staff have been employed by Atos in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) Gloucester in each of the last five years.

Mark Harper: Atos Healthcare has an Assessment Centre in Gloucester undertaking ESA/IBR assessments for those claimants living in Gloucestershire.
	While there are a small number of medically qualified personnel permanently based at Gloucester Assessment Centre, other medically qualified personnel also regularly complete assessments at this site.
	The number of medically qualified personnel undertaking ESA/IBR assessments at Gloucester Assessment Centre in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			 As at September to August each year Number 
			 2009-10 24 
			 2010-11 41 
			 2011-12 24 
			 2012-13 25 
			 2013-14 16 
		
	
	The reason the number of medically qualified personnel undertaking ESA/IBR assessments at Gloucester Assessment Centre in each of the last five years has reduced is due to there now being a regular team of 4 practitioners based in Gloucester, which has meant fewer practitioners travelling from other Centres to conduct assessments in Gloucester.

Employment and Support Allowance

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department monitors the number of employment and support allowance claims which are awaiting action by (a) a work capability assessment provider and (b) his Department.

Mark Harper: Yes.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken to process a mandatory re-consideration of an employment and support allowance is; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Harper: This information is not yet available. DWP statisticians are currently working to collate and quality assure data on Mandatory Reconsideration for Employment and Support Allowance as a priority. The Department has committed to publishing the statistics when the Departmental statisticians judge that the data meet the standards set out in the UK Statistics Authority’s Codes of Practice. The aim is to release an initial set of official statistics on Mandatory Reconsideration by the end of 2014.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution by the Minister of State for Employment of 1 September 2014, Official Report, column 16, on youth employment (support) how much funding from the youth contract wage incentive scheme has been re-allocated; and to which other areas.

Esther McVey: DWP has reallocated funds, from the total £1 billion Youth Contract, to focus on the hardest to help youth groups who are still finding it difficult to take up vacancies and encourage self-employment, the table below lists the additional support that is being provided from the Wage Incentive underspend since 2011.
	
		
			 Wage Incentive Underspend Re-allocation Funding (£million) 
			 Additional Jobcentre advisor resource in 20 Hotspot areas 56.0 
			 Extension of the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) Scheme to December 2014 35.0 
			 Funding for BIS for New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) start-up loans 20.0 
			 City Deals (including £5 million for Scotland and Wales and £1.8 million for Glasgow) 56.8 
			 Heywood review of 16-21 year olds: funding to support the 16-17 NEET pilots and the BIS 18-21 Work Skills pilots 6.0 
			 Additional funding for BIS to support young people further away from the labour market for education and training activities intended to lead initially to Traineeships or equivalent provision, and subsequently employment 1.1 
			 Intensive Jobcentre advisor support for disadvantaged NEETs in selected areas 1.1 
			 Total 176.0

Housing Benefit: East Sussex

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effects of the under-occupancy penalty on social housing tenants in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) East Sussex; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.
	On a national scale, reversing the removal of spare room subsidy policy would cost the tax-payer approximately £500 million per annum.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an estimate of (a) the amount of savings accruing to the public purse through penalties incurred on housing benefit arising from the under occupancy penalty to date and (b) the amount paid in discretionary housing payments in that time.

Esther McVey: The information is as follows.
	(a) The Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy is estimated to save around £500 million per year in 2013/14 and 2014/15.
	(b) In 2013/14 total discretionary housing payment expenditure by local authorities across Great Britain was £176,393,889. This figure includes amounts spent by Local Authorities over and above their government contribution in DHP funding. At the end of the financial year, 240 out of 380 LAs across Great Britain under-spent by £13,285,430 against the available Government contribution. This was in addition to the £7,111,693 unallocated from the £20 million reserve fund.
	Detailed information about discretionary housing payment expenditure was published in June 2014 and can be found at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322455/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-june-2014.pdf

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what financial information is sent to his Department from individual local authorities on the administrative costs incurred in the preparation for, and the processing of, the under-occupancy penalty; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The Department has provided funding to each local authority to meet the additional costs resulting from our reforms to Housing Benefit. Local Authority Associations were fully consulted when determining these new costs.
	The Department does not collect details of expenditure on Housing Benefit administration from individual local authorities.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many youth rate jobseeker's allowance claimants have been referred for sanction while they undertake a traineeship since August 2013;
	(2)  what steps are taken against a claimant of youth rate jobseeker's allowance who leaves a traineeship before it was completed.

Esther McVey: Youth claimant attendance and participation on a traineeship is voluntary so there would not be any sanction if they chose to leave the programme early. However, Jobcentre Plus work coaches interview anyone who does not complete their traineeship to establish why, and to determine the most appropriate next steps towards achieving their job goal.

Personal Independence Payment

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment his Department has made of Atos's performance in carrying out personal independence payment assessments.

Mark Harper: The Department's contracts with Atos Healthcare (and Capita) for the delivery of assessments for Personal Independence Payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department's expectations for service delivery. We are closely monitoring their progress and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards. We are working closely with our suppliers to speed up the process for claimants.
	By the autumn, we expect no one to be waiting for an assessment for longer than 26 weeks and by the end of the year, we expect no one will be waiting longer than 16 weeks.

Personal Independence Payment

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when applications for personal independent payment will be available online.

Mark Harper: While Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims are not currently available online, part of our longer term plan is to develop an online claim service for PIP that meets the needs of our claimants. It is important that we get the design of this right before moving to implementation.

Personal Independence Payment

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the comparative performance of Capita and Atos in conducting personal independence payment assessments.

Mark Harper: The Department's contracts with Atos Healthcare and Capita for the delivery of assessments for personal independence payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department's expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department. We are closely monitoring their progress and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards.
	We are aware that, in many cases, it is taking longer than we would like for claimants to have their assessments with Capita and Atos Healthcare. To ensure they deliver we are working closely with our suppliers to speed up the process for claimants.
	By the autumn, we expect no one to be waiting for an assessment for longer than 26 weeks and by the end of the year, we expect no one will be waiting longer than 16 weeks.

Personal Independence Payment: Scotland

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal independence payment (a) registrations and (b) decisions were made in the (i) KA and (ii) PA postcode areas between April 2013 and March 2014.

Mark Harper: Published statistics show that in the KA postcode area there were (a) 2,840 registrations and (b) 1,070 decisions made for the personal independence payment. In the PA postcode area, there were (a) 2,430 registrations, and (b) 680 decisions made for the personal independence payment.

Social Security Benefits

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 180W, on social security benefits, if he will conduct an estimate of the saving to the public purse generated by the reduction of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit for individuals in receipt of a pension income of more than £85 per week in 2013-14.

Mark Harper: We have no plans to undertake such an estimate.

Social Security Benefits

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the difference between changes in (a) carers' benefits, (b) disability benefits and (c) older people's benefits and the rate of inflation in each of the last three years.

Steve Webb: Carers' and disability benefits, and the additional state pension, must by statute be uprated in line with prices. So the increase in those benefits over the last three years has reflected the increase in the consumer prices index.
	The basic state pension has been increased with the triple lock (by the highest of average earnings, CPI or 2.5%), and the standard minimum guarantee in pension credit has been uprated in line with the cash increase in the basic state pension. In each of the last three years, this means that the standard minimum guarantee has increased by more than the minimum requirement of the increase in average earnings. The resulting over-indexation of the standard minimum guarantee has been funded through an increase in the savings credit threshold and the associated reduction in the savings credit maximum.
	The table indicates the percentage increases in CPI; basic state pension; average earnings; and the standard minimum guarantee in each of the past three years.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 CPI 5.2 2.2 2.7 
			 Basic state pension 5.2 2.5 2.7 
			 Average earnings 2.8 1.6 1.2 
			 Pension credit standard minimum guarantee 3.9 1.9 2.0

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what right of appeal claimants will have against reports and decisions made through doorstep interviews where their benefits are affected; and by what legislative means that system of appeals will be introduced.

Mark Harper: The Department visits some benefit claimants in their home to review their benefit claim and check if the Department or Local Authority is paying the correct amount of benefit. If following the interview it is considered that a claimant’s benefit is incorrect the information is passed to a Decision Maker in that part of the Department, or the Local Authority, which pays the benefit to the claimant. If the Decision Maker decides that the benefit award is incorrect a new decision, with dispute rights-Mandatory Reconsideration followed by appeal-will be sent to the claimant. These are not new dispute rights introduced for these home visits. They apply to all appealable benefit decisions and arise from the Social Security Act 1998 and the Welfare Reform Act 2012.

Social Security Benefits: South West

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) work capability assessments and (b) personal independence payment assessments has been undertaken by Atos in (i) the South West, (ii) Gloucestershire and (iii) Gloucester in the last 12 months; and how many assessments resulted in the claimant being found fit for work.

Mark Harper: Information on the number of Personal Independent Payment assessments completed by provider is not available.
	The information we can provide for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) work capability assessments is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Total number of ESA Work Capability Assessments and, of these, the number found Fit for Work in the South West and Gloucestershire: 1 October 2012 - 30 September 2013 
			   Of which: 
			  Total (where functional assessment has been completed) Fit for Work 
			 Area ESA new claims—Initial assessments ESA claims—Repeat assessments Incapacity Benefit re-assessments ESA new claims—Initial assessments ESA claims—Repeat assessments Incapacity Benefit re-assessments 
			 South West Region 14,400 2,000 26,800 3,900 100 3,400 
		
	
	
		
			 Gloucestershire 1,700 200 2,300 600 * 300 
			 * = Denotes 0 or under 50. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Figures for Gloucestershire County are derived by summing the following Local Authorities: Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury. 3. These data are not available by parliamentary constituency. 4. Data are for the 12 months: 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2013, which is the latest data available. 5. The initial assessment outcomes relate to the claimant’s first assessment before appeal and may include cases that will have been revised following reconsideration. 6. The outcome recorded is the final DWP Decision Maker’s decision or the recommendation made by the Atos Healthcare Professional where the Decision Maker’s decision is not yet available. 7. The data presented above comes from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions. It relates to new and repeat ESA claims and Incapacity Benefits Reassessments. The reassessment of existing incapacity benefits claimants was rolled out nationally from April 2011. Source: Data in the table above is derived from administrative data held by the DWP and assessment data provided by Atos Healthcare. 
		
	
	In October 2008, ESA replaced Incapacity Benefit for new claims. The reassessment of existing Incapacity Benefit claimants to see if they are eligible for ESA was rolled out nationally from April 2011 and is ongoing.

Telephone Services

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time is which a caller to a Department for Work and Pensions telephone line which is not free to call is made to wait while on hold, when listening to a pre-recorded message or selecting options at the start of a telephone call; and what the financial gain is to his Department from the charge levied for a call of that length.

Steve Webb: This data relates to non-0800 calls and represents the period from the point a customer enters a queue to the point they are connected to an agent, and is drawn from Working Age, Pension Age, Disability and Universal Credit services but excludes Child Maintenance Group. From July 2014 the average speed to answer for such telephony lines was three minutes 20 seconds.
	Prior to 1 April no revenue was received for 0845 but with effect from 1st April 2014, the Department changed procedures to receive a rebate equivalent to 0.3p per minute for calls to its 0845 services: this, includes time listening to pre-recorded information, selecting call routing options and waiting for an available agent. This arrangement is in line with Cabinet Office guidance published in December 2013 and is not revenue but used to offset Direct Spend on other services provided by the same supplier. In addition, the Department can confirm that benefit claim lines operate 0800 free numbers. For other help lines the Department is introducing 0345 numbers in addition to its 0845 numbers (customers can then choose the cheapest call option dependent on their telephone or mobile operator.)

Telephone Services

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what financial gain his Department has made arising from the use of telephone lines which are not free to call in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: In the five financial years to and including 2013-14 the Department for Work and Pensions received no direct financial or non-financial benefit from its telephony provider for the operation of its telephone services. In line with Cabinet Office guidance published in December 2013, the Department has negotiated a rebate against the cost of providing 0845 services which has a value equivalent to 0.3p per minute for calls to its 0845 services. This arrangement was only effective from 1 April 2014 and the rebate will be used to reduce the costs of other services provided by the same supplier, and currently this negotiated procedure has accrued circa £117,000 (to August 2014.)

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of universal credit claimants who have a housing cost element in their payment (a) in total and (b) in each local authority area are in arrears on rent payment;
	(2)  how many universal credit claimants (a) in total and (b) in each local authority are in arrears on rent payments;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of universal credit claimants (a) in total and (b) in each local authority area have a housing cost element in their payment;
	(4)  how many payments to universal credit claimants have been made direct to a landlord (a) in total and (b) in each local authority area to date.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not currently available.
	The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013 which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics
	As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
	The latest official experimental statistics on UC can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

Work Capability Assessment

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what performance targets his Department has set for Atos's contract under the work capability assessment; and whether such targets have been met.

Mark Harper: The Performance of Atos is measured across a range of service level agreements setting out the Department's expectation for service delivery.
	The Department has given Atos Healthcare a clearance target that we expect them to achieve by the end of the contract. We are closely monitoring their performance and currently Atos Healthcare are consistently achieving our monthly clearance expectations.
	We are working closely with Atos Healthcare to continually improve their performance and have put in place changes to better manage the flow of work between the Department, all designed to reduce waiting times for claimants. These measures are taking effect and the backlog of cases has continued to fall over the past few months.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by his Department since May 2010.

Jo Swinson: Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU directives that have come into force since May 2010, can be found on the European Commission's website:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html

Holiday Leave

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the inclusion of non-compulsory and non-guaranteed overtime in the calculation of holiday pay; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and other BIS Ministers regularly meet other European Ministers and discuss a wide range of issues. Regular discussions also take place at official level.

Minimum Wage

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2014, Official Report, column 246W, on the national minimum wage, how many of the firms named and shamed for breach of the national minimum wage up to 8 June 2014 were issued notices of underpayments once the firm had dissolved; what the time was between each underpayment and the time of issuing of notice; how many of the employers named and shamed (a) paid their employees the underpayment and (b) paid a financial penalty to the Government; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.
	All 30 employers that have been named and shamed up to 8 June 2014 were issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NoU) and were still in existence when the NoU was issued.
	The Department's answer to the hon. Member's parliamentary question of 25 June 2014, Official Report, column 246W, sets out the months that the NoU were issued. HMRC do not record the time between the date of each underpayment and the issue of the Notice of Underpayment. HMRC can pursue arrears claims for workers going back up to six years and therefore a worker may complain up to six years after the time they think they were underpaid. Additionally, investigations following a complaint may identify further underpaid workers or other periods of underpayment going back several years.
	All of the employers who were named and shamed paid the arrears due to workers and also the financial penalty imposed.

Street Trading

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date his Department plans to meet pedlar stakeholders to discuss Consultation documents BIS/12/605 and 606 on street trading and pedlar laws as proposed by his Department via email on 19 December 2013.

Jo Swinson: The Government's response to the consultation held in 2012/13 will be published soon and once it is, BIS officials will be very happy to meet with pedlar stakeholders.

Textiles

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase textile manufacturing in the UK.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 3 September 2014
	Companies in the textiles manufacturing sector can access help and advice to grow their business through ‘GREAT”
	www.greatbusiness.gov.uk
	or
	www.gov.uk
	eligible businesses can gain support in areas such as starting, running, funding, staffing and expanding a business.
	BIS has provided targeted support to the textiles sector in a number of ways. Firstly, £12.8 million has been made available from the Regional Growth Fund to support the Textiles Growth Programme, which is focused on creating and safeguarding 1,020 jobs in textiles by supporting capital projects, skills training and research and development in the North of England.
	Growth Deals will allow Local Enterprise Partnerships with a textiles manufacturing presence in their regions to prioritise the financial support available (£2 billion a year for 6 years from 2015/16 to 2020/2) for proposals that target this sector.
	The Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) provides grants and loans to successful projects demonstrating real ambition to create globally competitive supply chains. £3.9 million of AMSCI funding has been awarded to C & J Antich Ltd to pioneer a technique for weaving Aluminium Dioxide thread into 3D shapes to form the basis for the production of ‘reinforced aluminium’.
	Additional funding of £100 million for AMSCI 2014 was announced in April. The new round is open to applications from all organisations operating as part of a manufacturing supply chain including textile manufacturers.
	The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) offers expert advice and grant support to eligible manufacturing companies throughout England. MAS delivers a range of support to manufacturing companies; including those in the textiles sector; ranging from company specific diagnostics, workforce up skilling and grant funding for specific projects to achieve the company’s growth ambitions. Since January 2012 MAS have supported 334 companies in the textiles and leather sector to deliver 417 company specific projects, a further 109 projects are due for completion this financial year. 1521 business diagnostics have been undertaken with companies in the textiles and leather sector.
	As part of the Sector Mentoring Fund, Manchester Economic Solutions Ltd was awarded £77,500 in January to deliver Mentor Tex, which is a textile sector mentoring programme concentrated in key textiles regions such as Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire. The scheme has attracted interest from a wide range of textiles businesses, with 32 mentees and 13 mentors already signed up and other in the pipeline. To date 12 mentoring relationships are already in place and we expect to meet project targets by the end of the summer.
	UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) can also help the domestic supply chain for textiles exploit opportunities for exporting into new markets overseas. We are also helping raise skills levels through an unprecedented focus on vocational training, including Higher Level Apprenticeships which will provide for higher level skills and beyond into postgraduate level and professional qualifications.
	Finally, the textiles sector, particularly technical textiles, continues to have access to opportunities for technology transfer and the exchange of knowledge provided by the Knowledge Transfer Network.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports she has received on (a) the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic and (b) the humanitarian implications of broader insecurity in the Sahel.

Lynne Featherstone: Ministers are regularly updated on the situation on the Central African Republic (CAR). The humanitarian situation in CAR and among refugees remains critical. Malnutrition rates among refugee children are now over 30%, above the emergency threshold. Insecurity and poor rainfall mean that an estimated 1.7 million people or a third of the population are food insecure across CAR.
	The UK has provided £25.5 million in humanitarian and development assistance to the Central African Republic (CAR) crisis since mid-2013.
	Across the Sahel region there are ongoing conflicts in Mali, CAR and northern Nigeria which have caused the displacement of thousands of people to the neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon and DRC. The UK has provided £103 million in humanitarian support to the Sahel since the beginning of 2013 to help over 1.6 million people with immediate life-saving assistance.

Burma

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of the survivors of rape by the Burmese Army whose cases have been documented by the Women's League of Burma have received humanitarian and specialist support from her Department.

Desmond Swayne: DFID provides support for women affected by sexual violence and rape, including referrals to specialist centres, but it is part of a wider package of assistance which is not recorded in this way.

Developing Countries: Females

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policies and programmes her Department has to tackle female genital mutilation and early forced marriage; and what progress has been made in this area following the Prime Minister's Girl Summit held in July 2014.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK is the biggest international donor to efforts tackling female genital mutilation, investing up to £35 million over 5 years. This funding enables three strands of work. First, work directly within local communities and governments to back action to end FGM in 15 countries. Secondly, research into the most cost-effective approaches to ending FGM, to make sure our work has the maximum impact, and thirdly social change communications and support to UK based diaspora groups for efforts to end the practice in their countries of origin.
	At Girl Summit 2014, the Secretary of State for International Development announced a new commitment of up to £25 million for a UN multi-country programme to end child, early and forced marriage in 12 countries, and an investment of £31 million to generate new evidence on what works to transform lives of poor adolescent girls. DFID is also exploring new mechanisms to support civil society addressing FGM and CEFM.
	DFID is driving forward its work on both of these important agendas. In parallel, we are building on the achievements of the Girl Summit, which included support from over 450 governments, organisations and individuals for a Charter that called to an end to FGM and CEFM, 12,000 social media pledges for this cause, and over 130 policy commitments contributing towards this objective. DFID is working to maintain this international momentum by calling for more signatories to the charter, delivery of the commitments that were made and further action to end these practices.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by her Department since May 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: There have been no new EU directives or regulations transposed into UK law by my Department since May 2010.

Gambia

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to ensure vulnerable people in Gambia are not affected by the decision of the EU to suspend aid to that country;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to ensure that vulnerable people in Gambia are not affected by deteriorating conditions as a result of the suspension of aid and human rights violations.

Lynne Featherstone: The EU, with UK support, is seeking to persuade the Gambian Government to improve the human rights situation through its regular political dialogue under the Cotonou Agreement. The release of EU development funds are linked to these discussions.

International Citizen Service: South East

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many young people are involved in the International Citizens Service in (a) Brighton and Hove, (b) East Sussex and (c) South East England; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: As of 31 August 2014 more than 5,600 UK volunteers had started an International Citizen Service placement. This includes, following the pilot phase, 85 volunteers from Brighton and Hove, 139 from East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove) and 708 from the South East including East Sussex.
	Statistics on participating UK volunteers, by age and by region are published annually
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-citizen-service-ics-volunteer-statistics-2013-2014

Nepal

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effects on her Department's aid programme in Nepal of the formation of the new government in that country.

Desmond Swayne: As part of the new planning cycle for the Department for International Development my office in Nepal has made a thorough assessment of the expected effects on the Department’s aid programme of the formation of the new government following elections in November 2013.
	Accordingly we have shifted our aid programme towards creating the enabling environment for inclusive economic growth including an increased focus on jobs, infrastructure and local development, strengthening effective government including public financial management and anti-corruption measures, and continuing to strengthen the quality and targeting of service delivery. We have increased our focus on mitigating the risks of climate change and inequality so that economic and social gains are safeguarded.

Palestinians

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will increase financial aid for Palestine.

Desmond Swayne: DFID is providing nearly £350 million from 2011-15 to address a broad range of Palestinian development aid since the current conflict began. We keep the level of our funding under constant review.

Palestinians

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian and medical support the Government is providing to the population of Gaza.

Desmond Swayne: The UK is one of the biggest donors to the Gaza crisis, providing more than £17 million in emergency assistance since the beginning of the crisis. DFID is providing essential supplies to thousands of families, helping to repair water infrastructure, deliver emergency medical services, protect the civilian population and deal with food shortages.

St Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of (a) the current cost of transporting a container of goods to St Helena and (b) the future cost of transporting a container of goods after the RMS St Helena has been decommissioned.

Desmond Swayne: Costs of transportation depend on volume and place of origin. Expressions of interest for ocean freight services are currently being reviewed by the Saint Helena Government.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development under what timetable her Department plans to phase out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

Desmond Swayne: DFID will phase out 0845 numbers next month. A 0300 number will be available from mid-September 2014, the 0845 number will be decommissioned by end of 2014.

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Desmond Swayne: DFID spent £832.97 on purchasing televisions in 2013; no televisions have been purchased in 2014 to date.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the social and environmental effect of conditions imposed on UK Government loans to the Turks and Caicos government.

Desmond Swayne: The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are not in receipt of a loan from the UK Government.

West Africa

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department has taken to combat the spread of Ebola in the last four months.

Lynne Featherstone: The current outbreak of Ebola poses a serious public health risk to West Africa and is deeply concerning. The UK is taking a leading role in working with the countries affected and with the international community to ensure that the outbreak is contained and help reaches those in need. In total, over £25 million of British funding is supporting the global effort to contain this disease. This includes £5 million of new direct funding to help partners working on the ground like the WHO, Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières? to treat victims and prevent the spread of Ebola in West Africa. Over £20 million of UK support is helping contain Ebola through commitments to multilateral institutions (the World Bank and the African Development Bank) and the EU.

HEALTH

Ambulance Services: East Midlands

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many ambulance calls from (a) the East Midlands and (b) High Peak constituency were responded to in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of ambulances in (a) the East Midlands and (b) High Peak constituency failed to respond within their targeted response times in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the number of ambulance calls receiving an emergency response from the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, and the proportion of those that were responded to within the standard response time, for the last five years, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Category A calls resulting in an ambulance arriving Arriving within 19 minutes (95% standard) Category A calls resulting in an emergency response Responded to within 8 minutes (75% standard) 
			  Thousand Thousand Percentage Thousand Thousand Percentage 
			 2009-101 186.5 180.1 96.5 186.6 137.6 73.7 
			 2010-111 205.0 191.8 93.5 205.2 148.6 72.4 
			 2011-12 222.0 204.9 92.3 222.4 167.1 75.2 
			 2012-13 234.1 215.0 91.9 37.0 2April to May 2012 28.3 2April to May 2012 76.4 2April to May 2012 
			 2013-14 245.2 230.0 93.8 n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  Red 1 calls resulting in an emergency response Responded to within 8 minutes (75% standard) Red 2 calls resulting in an emergency response Responded to within 8 minutes (75% standard) 
			  Thousand Thousand Percentage Thousand Thousand Percentage 
			 2009-101 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2010-111 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2011-12 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2012-13 19.1 2June 2012 to March 2013 13.4 2June 2012 to March 2013 70.0% 2June 2012 to March 2013 178.4 2June 2012 to March 2013 134.7 2June 2012 to March 2013 75.5% 2June 2012 to March 2013 
			 2013-14 19.4 13.8 71.3 226.1 161.5 71.4 
			 n/a: Not available. 1 Before April 2011, data were collected annually by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in the KA34 Ambulance Statistics, and are not necessarily consistent with later data supplied to NHS England. 2 From June 2012 Category A calls were split into Red 1 (most serious/time critical) and Red 2 (serious but less time critical). It is not possible to compare Red 1 and Red 2 data from June 2012 onwards with earlier years due to different clock start times. Sources: 1. 2009-10 and 2010-11: Health and Social Care Information Centre. 2. 2011-12 onwards: NHS England Ambulance Quality Indicators.

Ambulance Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average ambulance response time in the Mid Yorkshire NHS trust is.

Jane Ellison: Ambulance services in Yorkshire are provided by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
	NHS England only regularly collect median average ambulance response times from entire ambulance trusts. It is not possible to give such figures for smaller areas.
	The median averages for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service for the last 12 months for which data is available are in the following table.
	
		
			 Table: The median ambulance response times to treatment for category A1 calls for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, April 2011 to April 2014 inclusive 
			  Median time to treatment for Category A calls (in minutes) 
			 May 2013 5.2 
			 June 2013 5.3 
			 July 2013 5.6 
			 August 2013 5.6 
			 September 2013 5.5 
			 October 2013 5.6 
			 November 2013 5.7 
			 December 2013 5.9 
			 January 2014 5.5 
			 February 2014 5.7 
			 March 2014 5.6 
			 April 2014 6.4 
			 May 2014 6.9 
			 1Category A calls are defined as those that are the result of immediately life threatening incidents. Source: Ambulance quality indicators, NHS England, www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators

Cancer

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of progress on the Cancer Strategy target of saving an additional 5,000 lives from cancer per year by 2014-15;
	(2)  what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are taking to address weaknesses in cancer patient experience and staff engagement.

Jane Ellison: Cancer survival and mortality rates continue to improve although it is too early to assess progress against our ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives per year by 2014-15, to halve the gap between the survival estimates in England and those in the best countries in Europe. Proxy measures are being developed to enable an assessment of progress in a more timely manner, particularly in terms of the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages one and two and cancers diagnosed through emergency routes.
	The National Health Service and Public Health Outcomes Framework indicators and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Outcomes Indicator Set are starting to enable us to assess progress, at national and local level. For example, data on one-year survival from all cancers and one-year survival from breast, lung and colorectal cancer were published as part of the CCG outcomes indicator set for the first time on 19 June 2014. NHS England is continuing to monitor the progress of the NHS in reducing mortality from cancer in line with the NHS Outcomes Framework, and from 2014-15 there will be a range of new NHS Outcomes Framework indicators reflecting different stages of diagnosis which will provide a good proxy measure in future on progress in delivering earlier stage of diagnosis of cancer.
	The Mandate for the NHS for 2014-15 sets out an ambition for England to become one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths. Tackling premature deaths from cancer will contribute to this. A range of work at national and local level is aimed at improving cancer survival. For example, results from the first national “Be Clear on Cancer” lung cancer campaign in 2012 showed that around 700 extra patients were diagnosed with lung cancer compared to the previous year. Approximately 400 of these patients had their lung cancer diagnosed at an early stage, with around 300 more patients having surgery, giving them a better chance of survival.
	NHS England took over responsibility for the annual national cancer patient experience survey from April 2013. The survey results are used by a range of stakeholders to identify practices that lead to positive experience for patients, and promote improvements.
	NHS England is working with NHS Improving Quality and other partners to develop more effective ways of using the survey results within the NHS, for example, working with successful and struggling organisations to identify and spread best practice.
	CCGs are currently in the process of finalising measurable levels of ambition to improve patient experience and will be holding providers to account. These are based on NHS England's new measure for poor inpatient experience which includes whether patients are treated with dignity and respect.
	Compassion in Practice, the three year vision and strategy for nursing, midwifery and care staff, is also seeking to increase feedback from vulnerable and disadvantaged patient groups, who can have poorer experiences of care.
	In April 2014, NHS England introduced the staff friends and family test for all NHS Trusts in England, as research shows the strong link between levels of staff engagement and quality of patient experience.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to ensure that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have access to oxygen therapy when travelling abroad; for what reason the NHS contractor in England no longer provides that service; and if his Department will instruct the contractor to fully inform COPD patients about the provision of oxygen therapy when they are travelling abroad.

Jane Ellison: There are four oxygen suppliers covering England. They have never been contracted to supply oxygen for people travelling outside of the United Kingdom (UK). Oxygen for use on holiday is only available free of charge for trips in the UK, and can be arranged through the patients current oxygen provider or a general practitioner. Oxygen suppliers in the UK have leaflets that are available to patients setting out the arrangements for people wishing to go on holiday. If a patient is holidaying in Europe oxygen can be arranged through the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme with a valid EHIC. The Department’s Call Centre can supply the relevant contact details of officials in European countries. The person travelling will need to contact the authorised oxygen company for the country they are travelling to in order to make the necessary arrangements required to book state-funded Oxygen Therapy equipment. If they are travelling outside Europe, they will need to contact an oxygen company that supplies the country they will be visiting. To find an oxygen provider outside the UK, the individual can contact the British consulate in the country they are travelling to, an oxygen supplier in the UK, or the British Lung Foundation.

Dental Services

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests have been made by dental practices in England for their Unit of Dental Activity price to be increased in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many such requests have been granted.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not held centrally.

Depressive Illnesses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffered from repeat episode depression in each year for which data is available.

Norman Lamb: The number of people who suffered from repeat episodes of depression is not available.
	The only data which can be provided are the number of referrals received by Improved Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services, for people with a provisional diagnosis of Recurrent Depression.
	These data include a count of referrals, not distinct people and one person may have multiple diagnoses. Many episodes recorded by IAPT services do not have a provisional diagnosis recorded when the referral is received.
	Data are available by quarter for 2012-13 and 2013-14. These data have been collected nationally since April 2012.
	
		
			 New IAPT service referrals with a primary diagnosis of Recurrent Depression, England 
			  Referrals 
			 2012-13  
			 Q1—April-June 4,300 
			 Q2—July-October 4,430 
			 Q3—November-December 4,485 
			 Q4—January-March 4,756 
			   
			 2013-14  
			 Q1—April-June 4,990 
			 Q2—July-October 5,738 
			 Q3—November-December 5,820 
			 Q4—January-March 5,888 
			 Note: Not all referrals have a provisional diagnosis recorded. Source: IAPT Dataset

Fibromyalgia

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of fybromyalgia sufferers in the UK;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on research into fybromyalgia in the last three years; and what guidance his Department gives on support to be given through the NHS for fybromyalgia sufferers.

Norman Lamb: The Department has made no estimate of the number of fibromyalgia sufferers in the United Kingdom. As the condition is poorly understood and there is not specific diagnostic test, it is difficult to make a reliable estimate
	Although there is no cure for fibromyalgia, some treatments can ease symptoms and support improved quality of life for patients. The treatments offered will depend on the severity of a patient’s condition, but may include: pharmacological pain relief; physiotherapy; dietary and exercise advice; counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy; and self-management programmes which aim to give patients the skills and confidence to manage their conditions more effectively. There are also a number of NHS Trusts that offer specialist fibromyalgia clinics, such the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath, which patients can access on referral from the clinician responsible for their care.
	In each of the last three years, the Department’s National Institute for Health Research has spent £0.1 million on fibromyalgia research.

General Dental Council

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding the General Dental Council's proposed increase to the annual retention fee for dentists.

Daniel Poulter: Since 1 July 2014, the Department has received a number of representations regarding the General Dental Council’s (GDC) proposed increase to the annual retention fee for dentists. As at 3 September 2014, these representations included seven items of correspondence: one from the Chair of the GDC, one from the British Dental Association and five from Members of Parliament. The Department has received two related Parliamentary Questions and has responded to an e-petition opposing an increase in the GDC’s annual retention fee.
	In my role as Parliamentary Under Secretary for Health, on 3 September 2014, I also met with the GDC where, among other things, concerns about the proposal fee rise were discussed.

General Practitioners

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs (a) excluding retainers and registrars and (b) including retainers but excluding registrars there were in the financial year (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2013-14.

Daniel Poulter: The annual National Health Service General and Personal Medical Services workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of general practitioners (GPs) working in the NHS in England at 30 September each year, which is a snap shot taken at the mid-point of the financial year.
	The numbers of full-time equivalent GPs, excluding retainers and registrars, and including retainers but excluding registrars, working in the NHS in England as at September 2010 and September 2013 are shown in the following table. The latest available statistics are as at 30 September 2013 and were published on 25 March 2014.
	
		
			 General Medical Practitioners full-time equivalents 2010 and 2013, England, GPs total 
			 full time equivalent and percentages 
			  2010 2013 2010-13 (change) 2010-13 (percentage change) 
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) 35,243 36,294 1,051 3.0 
			 GPs (including retainers but excluding registrars) 31,356 32,075 719 2.3 
			 GP Providers 31,525 32,201 676 2.1 
			 Other GPs 6,962 8,032 1,070 15.4 
			 GP registrars1,2 3,718 4,093 375 10.1 
			 GP retainers 169 126 -43 -25.5 
			 1 GP Registrar count from 2008 onwards represents an improvement in data collection processes and comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. 2 From 2012, GP Registrars have been removed from the GP Workforce collection where a duplicate record already exists on the Electronic Staff Record. Due to a change in coding practices in some regions GP Registrars are increasingly recorded on the ESR system rather than the GP Exeter Payment System. All these staff are not shown in the GP Registrar totals but are included in the HCHS Medical and Dental Registrars total. Notes: 1. These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave. 2. Full Time Equivalent refers to the proportion of each role’s full time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. One would indicate they work a full set of hours, 0.5 that they worked half time. 3. From April 2013 Public Health England was excluded from workforce publications. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services workforce census

Health Protection Agency: Colindale

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made any plans for the future of the Colindale Health Protection Agency site.

Jane Ellison: Over the past 18 months, Public Health England has been developing the Outline Business Case for a major capital investment in public health science, including modern facilities, called the Science Hub programme (previously called the Chrysalis programme). Under this plan, services would relocate from Colindale to Harlow in a phased programme between mid 2018 and 2021.
	Government will make a decision in autumn 2014.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to ensure that foreign nationals pay for healthcare they receive in the UK.

Jane Ellison: The Department is working to support the National Health Service to increase the recovery of costs from overseas visitors and migrants. We aim to recover £500 million annually by the middle of the next Parliament, which will be reinvested into the NHS to support the sustainability of NHS frontline services.
	The Department published its Implementation Plan on 14 July 2014 at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/recovering-costs-of-nhs-healthcare-from-visitors-and-migrants
	This sets out how the Department will improve the recovery rates from overseas visitors and migrants over the next year. It announced a number of measures to support these efforts but also laid the foundations for additional areas to be looked at as the programme progresses.
	As part of the programme the Department is starting a programme of financial incentives to support the NHS in identifying chargeable visitors and migrants using the NHS. These incentives recognise the administrative and financial burdens that can face NHS trusts in the recovery process and aim to counter balance these. The implementation plan provides the full detail of these schemes.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cycles of IVF treatment are offered free of charge to patients by each clinical commissioning group in England.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not collected centrally. The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG's decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.
	NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence fertility guidelines.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what support his Department is providing to King's College London to assist the development of the MAP vaccine for Crohn's disease from animal testing to human trials;
	(2)  what support his Department is giving to King's College London to work on developing the MAP vaccine for Crohn's disease from animal testing to human trials.

George Freeman: The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is not currently funding any Crohn’s vaccine development work at King’s College London.
	The Government has funding mechanisms in place for research and development relating to innovative medicines.
	The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Crohn’s disease and vaccines. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
	The NIHR manages the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, which bridges the gap between preclinical studies and evidence of clinical efficacy. The aim is to secure the progress of new technologies and interventions through their early clinical trials and onto larger, later clinical trials. The programme is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the NIHR.
	Other sources of funding include the Biomedical Catalyst, which is a funding programme jointly operated by the MRC and Innovate UK. The programme provides responsive and effective support for the best translational life science opportunities arising. Grants are available to United Kingdom academics and small and medium enterprises seeking to move their research more quickly from discovery to commercialisation.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department plans to introduce the meningitis B vaccine.

Jane Ellison: We are committed to introducing this vaccine as soon as practicable, subject to the manufacturer offering the vaccine at a cost-effective price, in line with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s recommendation.

Multiple Sclerosis

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have taken to ensure that accessible information is produced about multiple sclerosis treatment options;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to increase the role of people with multiple sclerosis in decision-making processes relating to their treatment;
	(3)  if he will take steps to ensure that all people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis are invited to talk with a specialist about potential treatment options arising from new disease-modifying drugs;
	(4)  what recent assessment he has made of the provision of licensed treatments for multiple sclerosis in the NHS in England; and if he will take steps to increase the availability of such treatments;
	(5)  if he will take steps to ensure that regular reviews of treatment and care by multiple sclerosis (MS) specialists are available for all people with MS in England.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline ‘Multiple sclerosis: Management of multiple sclerosis in primary and secondary care’, published in 2003, set outs best practice in the care, treatment and support for people with this condition. The guidance emphasises that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) should be involved in all decisions relating to their treatment and care and are supported to manage their condition. It also sets out that clinicians and other members of a patient’s healthcare team such as nurses and social workers, are responsible for discussing with patients the frequency and methods of reviewing their care needs.
	We have made no recent assessment of the provision of licensed treatments for multiple sclerosis in the National Health Service in England. However, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance recommending a number of drugs for use in treating MS, subject to certain clinical criteria. There is a legal requirement on the NHS to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of NICE technology appraisal guidance being published. Clinicians should discuss with patients, including those with relapsing and remitting MS, the availability of any new treatments and the guideline makes clear that commissioners should ensure that all people with MS have ready access to a specialist neurological service which includes the provision of specific pharmacological treatments.
	The guideline also stresses the importance of clinicians communicating clearly with patients which includes making leaflets and other information resources available. The provision of these resources is a matter for local NHS organisations.

Multiple Sclerosis

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical commissioning groups currently commission specialised multiple sclerosis centres.

Norman Lamb: NHS England has advised that clinical commissioning groups do not currently commission specialised services for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). NHS England commissions specialised services, including commissioning 15 Adult Neurology centres which will provide services for MS patients.

Nurses: Car Allowances

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to section 17 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, amendment number 33, what assessment he has made of the effects of the change in the fuel allowance to 20 pence per mile on retention of nurses in the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: As with all staff covered by the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, nursing staff incurring motoring costs during their national health service duties will receive reimbursement of these costs at the published mileage rates to ensure that they are not out of pocket.
	The change in fuel allowance for NHS staff to 20p per mile for mileage over 3,500 came into force on 1 July 2014 following a regular review of motoring expenses, based on information provided by the Automobile Association (AA) about the running costs of motor vehicles. This process of six-monthly reviews of motoring costs based on AA information was agreed by trade unions and employers, to ensure that NHS staff are not out of pocket for travel costs incurred in the performance of their NHS duties. In agreeing this system, employers and trade unions have recognised that there will be both upward and downward movement in costs, and subsequent mileage rates. These rates will be reviewed in November 2014, and will again be based on information provided by the AA.
	We are unable to correlate the level of reimbursement for motor travel with the rate of recruitment and retention of nurses.
	The latest NHS workforce statistics show that there are now over 3,700 more nurses, midwives and health visitors1 than in May 2010. NHS workforce statistics for July 2014 will be published in October.
	1 Including Health Visitor Minimum Data Set

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents in which non-patient egg donors had (a) severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and (b) ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome were categorised as (i) Grade A incidents and (ii) Grade B incidents in each year since 2009 for which records are available.

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that three incidents of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome involving a non-patient egg donor were reported to the HFEA by licensed clinics in 2009, 2011 and 2014. The three incidents were severe and graded 'B'.

Palliative Care

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Palliative Care Funding Review pilots are due to report.

Norman Lamb: NHS England will publish a draft national tariff document in February 2015. This will include details of a development currency for palliative care which will be based upon the data collected as part of the Palliative Care Funding Review pilots and the views of the palliative care sector. A draft will be published as part of an engagement process in the autumn.

Parkinson's Disease

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to improve compliance in (a) hospitals and (b) care homes with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines that people with Parkinson's disease should have their medication given at appropriate times and should be allowed to self-administer if necessary;
	(2)  what steps the new NHS safety action team plans to take to reduce avoidable harm resulting from delays or omissions in medication for hospital patients with Parkinson's disease;
	(3)  how many of the NHS trusts involved in the Sign up to safety campaign have a policy of stocking medicines for the treatment of Parkinson's disease in their emergency medications cupboards.

George Freeman: Following publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance that people with Parkinson's disease should have their medication given at appropriate times and should be allowed to self-administer if necessary, the National Patient Safety Agency issued a rapid response report (RRR) on omitted and delayed medicines on 24 February 2010, (NSPA/2010/RRR009)
	Reducing harm from omitted and delayed medicines in hospital
	, which applies to the National Health Service in both England and Wales. A copy of this report has already been placed in the Library, and a copy is available at:
	www.nrls.npsa.nhs.uk/resources/patient-safey-topics/medication-safety/?entryid45=66720&=2
	Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, all providers of regulated activities, including care homes have to register with the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England, and meet a set of requirements of safety and quality. One of these requirements relates to the management of medicines and requires that a provider protects service users against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines.
	NHS England’s Safer Medication Practice Team in Patient Safety, is finalising an e-learning package to help reduce omission and delay in the administration of medicines, including for Parkinson’s disease. This package will be available for all health professionals who prescribe, dispense and administer medicines in hospitals. It aims to increase awareness of the frequency of incidents and harm that are associated with omitted and delayed medicine doses in hospital and describes safer practice
	In addition, in March 2014, a joint NHS England and The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Patient Safety Alert, ‘Improving medication error incident reporting and learning’, was issued. A copy of this has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/psa-med-error.pdf
	This alert directs NHS and independent sector organisations to identify medication safety officers by 19 September 2014. They will be empowered to champion and facilitate local learning from patient safety incidents, including those that arise from omissions and delay of medicines for Parkinson’s disease. A National Medication Safety Network is to be established for discussing potential and recognised safety issues and identifying trends and actions to improve the safe use of medicines. The network will also work with new Patient Safety Improvement Collaborative, that will be set up later this year
	NHS England does not hold information on the number of NHS trusts that are involved with the Sign up to Safety campaign or the number of trusts who have a policy of stocking medicines for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in their emergency medicines cupboards.
	The NPSA RRR referred to above, identified medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease as critical medicines. Although emergency medicine cupboards are not mentioned directly in the RRR, NHS organisations have to review and where necessary make changes to systems for the supply of critical medicines within and outside of hours to minimise risks related to omitted or delayed doses of medicines.

Patient Choice Schemes

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of appointments booked through the NHS Choose and Book service in each of the last 12 months.

Jane Ellison: On average, every working day around 40,000 outpatient referrals are booked through Choose and Book and patients from over 90% of GP practices are referred using the Choose and Book service every week. Each month this represents around 500,000 referrals being made from GP practices to first consultant-led outpatient services through Choose and Book.
	Use of Choose and Book is, however, significantly greater than this with an additional 200,000 or so referrals per month being booked to other outpatient services, which include allied health professionals, GPs with special interests, diagnostic and assessment services. These are not currently included as part of the utilisation figures below as the denominator data is not currently reported at a national level.
	The following table shows the percentage of first outpatient referrals and the total number of referrals booked through Choose and Book between July 2013 and June 2014. Booking reports are available on the Choose and Book website:
	www.chooseandbook.nhs.uk/staff/bau/reports/?searchterm=reports
	
		
			  Utilisation1 (%)(GP to first consultant outpatient) Total number of referrals booked 
			 July 2013 52 786,212 
			 August 2013 53 690,431 
			 September 2013 53 717,987 
			 October 2013 53 798,605 
			 November 2013 52 723,663 
			 December 2013 51 640,101 
			 January 2014 54 803,350 
			 February 2014 51 725,563 
			 March 2014 52 785,484 
			 April 2014 51 756,372 
			 May 2014 52 772,120 
			 June 2014 51 791,019 
			 1 Utilisation is calculated as the percentage of referrals made to first consultant-led outpatient services using the Choose and Book system, compared to the total number of referrals made to first outpatient services, as reported by provider organisations to the Department.

Patient Choice Schemes

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with (a) NHS bodies and (b) patients' groups on the effectiveness of the NHS Choose and Book service.

Jane Ellison: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with both national health service bodies and patient groups in which a number of different issues are discussed.
	In addition to these conversations, teams within the Health and Social Care Information Centre have carried out extensive conversations on both the effectiveness of Choose and Book and the vision for the new NHS e-Referral Service.
	Between September 2013 and 31 August 2014, a total of almost 5,000 users representing almost 500 different NHS and independent organisations have taken part in stakeholder engagement events about Choose and Book.

Patient Choice Schemes

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the levels of patient satisfaction with the NHS Choose and Book service.

Jane Ellison: The NHS e-Referral Service (Choose and Book) Programme Team carried out a patient survey in January and February 2014 via the NHS Choices website. The survey received 2024 fully completed responses.
	The full results of this survey are available at:
	www.chooseandbook.nhs.uk/staff/gettingmore/benefits/2014_Survey_Results
	The survey found that 72% of patients referred via Choose and Book are ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the service.

Prisoners: Mental Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the number and percentage of prisoners who suffer from (a) mental illness and (b) repeat episode depression.

Norman Lamb: We have made no recent estimate. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) 1998 survey, ‘Psychiatric Morbidity among Prisoners in England and Wales’, is the most recent survey of mental illness and substance misuse amongst prisoners.
	The survey showed that a large proportion of the prison population were experiencing significant mental health problems. The ONS estimated that about 90% of adult prisoners had at least one of five disorders considered in the survey (personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, and alcohol misuse and drug dependence). 40% of male sentenced prisoners and 63% of female sentenced prisoners had experienced neurosis, which included depressive disorder and depressive episodes.

Prosthetics

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the practicality and safety of the recycling of prosthesis components issued by the NHS;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of repairs to prostheses in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: No such assessment has been made of the practicality and safety of the recycling of prosthesis components issued by the national health service, or the cost to the NHS of repairs to prostheses in each of the last five years.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2014, Official Report, column 1007W, on radiotherapy, in what respects University College Hospital London has failed to meet NHS England's service specifications for gamma knife services;
	(2)  if he will investigate the reasons why NHS England is instructing hospitals with patients presenting as clinically urgent to treat such patients with innovative radiotherapy at the hospital's financial risk while it decides whether to fund the patient; and if he will issue guidelines on how hospitals which have followed that instruction will receive reimbursement for such expenditure if NHS England subsequently refuses to fund the treatment.

Jane Ellison: University College Hospitals London (UCHL) did not apply to be a contracted provider of gamma knife services for NHS England. For this reason it has not been formally assessed against the service specification. The gamma knife referred to is owned and operated by Queen’s Square Radiotherapy Centre (QSRC) Ltd, a private company wholly owned by Medical Equipment Solutions Limited, in premises owned by UCLH under a commercial agreement with UCLH.
	As the national health service was going through a major transition in 2013-14 it was decided at that time that there should be no new market entrants for stereotactic radiotherapy services. Therefore only existing commissioned providers were asked to identify the services that they considered themselves to be providing, and UCLH did not express an interest in respect to gamma knife treatment. QSRC Ltd is not an existing NHS England commissioned provider and therefore was not assessed against the service specification.
	All patients need to be treated in accordance with the prescribed clinical pathways and in line with contractual agreements with providers. If providers treat outside the required contractual agreements then they do so at their own financial risk, and this is why NHS England instructs hospitals to this effect where no contractual arrangement is in place.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in what age group have been funded for proton beam therapy in each of the last five years; and in what location each person was so treated.

Jane Ellison: The information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Children Adults Total Location 
			 2009-10 8 12 20 France, USA and Switzerland 
			 2010-11 30 20 50 USA (38 patients) and Switzerland (12) 
			 2011-12 66 13 79 USA (majority of patients) and Switzerland 
			 2012-13 83 16 99 USA (majority of patients) and Switzerland 
			 2013-14 1103 121 1124 All USA 
			 1 Figure includes treatments given and treatments due to be given following approval. 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide a more detailed analysis of age group by location of treatment because it might be possible to identify individual patients from the data.

Standardised Packaging for Tobacco Independent Review

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 12 May 2014, Official Report, column 406W, on Standardised Packaging for Tobacco Independent Review, how much was spent under each cost-heading during the life of the Review.

Jane Ellison: This information is available on the King’s College website:
	www.kcl.ac.uk/health/packaging-review.aspx

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has spent £5,202.54 on the purchase of televisions in 2013 and £10,478.20 in 2014 to date.

Travel: Insurance

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will have discussions with the travel insurance industry about including cover for mental health problems as standard in travel insurance policies.

Norman Lamb: No current discussions are planned between the Secretary of State for Health and the travel insurance industry about including cover for mental health problems in standard travel insurance policies. Decisions on whether to include particular terms and conditions in insurance contracts, including whether to cover mental health problems as standard, are commercial decisions for individual insurers, and the Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.
	The Equality Act 2010 should provide adequate protection from potentially discriminatory practice. Under the Act, it is illegal to discriminate against people who have a disability (which includes mental health problems), or have had one in the past. This includes refusing to provide a service for someone with a disability, or providing the service on worse terms than for non-disabled people.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Housing: Energy

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of homes reliant on off-grid energy in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area.

Matthew Hancock: DECC publish estimates of the number of households without a gas connection by local authority. These are available on the Government website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sub-national-estimates-of-households-not-connected-to-the-gas-network

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information he has received from the UK civil nuclear sector of the creation of the new N-Group forum; what additional resources have been committed to non-departmental public bodies responsible to his Department to support participation in N-Group; and what discussions he has had with the (a) Chairman and (b) Chief Executive of the Office for Nuclear Regulation on that body joining the N-Group.

Matthew Hancock: The Nuclear Institute announced the formation of the N-Group, an informal group of representatives of organisations interested in the UK nuclear industry, in June. No additional resources have been provided to non-departmental public bodies responsible to the Department to support participation in N-Group and I have had no discussions with the Office for Nuclear Regulation about participation.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Fire Services: Pensions

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that the firefighters' pension scheme be subject to a formal actuarial evaluation every three years.

Penny Mordaunt: Valuations of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes in England are undertaken in accordance with Directions issued by the Treasury under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. The Directions ensure that valuations of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes are carried out every four years and that there is a transparent and consistent approach to valuations across public service pension schemes.

Fire Services: Pensions

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will introduce transitional protection in the proposed 2015 pension scheme for those firefighters who joined the service and the pension scheme at age 18 years, and will have made a full contribution before the earliest age at which they could retire within the scheme.

Penny Mordaunt: The Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015 does not have a cap on the amount of pension that a firefighter can earn. This means that every year that the firefighter pays employee contributions into the 2015 scheme, they will earn more pension. This is the case whatever age the firefighter joined the 2015 scheme, including if they transferred across from the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 1992 after joining at age 18.

Mobile Homes: Cooperatives

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent steps he has taken to encourage the ownership and management of park homes on a cooperative model.

Brandon Lewis: Park home sites can be jointly owned by home owners and run on a co-operative model. We have not taken steps to promote this. Our priority has been to tackle poor management practices in the sector which is why we have implemented the Mobile Homes Act 2013, which significantly increases the rights of home owners and provides them with better protection.

Planning Permission

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department gives on the weight that should be given to a neighbourhood or village plan that has been submitted to a planning authority when considering planning applications.

Brandon Lewis: Planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. An emerging neighbourhood plan may be a material consideration. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the weight that may be given to emerging plans in decision taking. We have set out in planning guidance where circumstances may justify the refusal of planning permission on the grounds that an application would be premature in relation to the emerging Local or neighbourhood plan. Any weight a relevant policy could carry in determining a planning application remains with the decision maker.

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not purchased any televisions in 2013 and 2014. To place this in context, the Department in the last Parliament under the previous Administration spent £22,527 on four flat-screen televisions, equivalent to £5,632 per television—as outlined in the answers of 1 September 2009, Official Report, column 1832W and 16 December 2009, Official Report, column 1265W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Assaults on Police

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers serving in each force were physically or verbally abused during the course of their duties in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The table provided contains statistics on the number of police officers assaulted while on duty in England and Wales, by each police force area, 2009-10 to 2013-14.
	
		
			 Number of police officers assaulted1 while on duty2 in England and Wales, by police force area, 2009-10 to 2013-14 
			  2009-10 2010-113 2011-123 2012-133 2013-143 
			 Avon & Somerset 160 139 166 134 127 
			 Bedfordshire 42 60 28 32 53 
			 Cambridgeshire 132 90 93 90 - 
			 Cheshire - - - - 85 
			 Cleveland 155 9 1 5 53 
		
	
	
		
			 Cumbria 96 89 76 64 49 
			 Derbyshire 120 82 57 49 32 
			 Devon & Cornwall 168 196 176 147 121 
			 Dorset 70 74 69 61 78 
			 Durham 126 121 102 102 81 
			 Dyfed-Powys 59 63 69 56 65 
			 Essex 330 355 315 331 344 
			 Gloucestershire - 53 100 79 86 
			 Greater Manchester - - - - - 
			 Gwent 103 93 93 87 82 
			 Hampshire - 306 373 106 - 
			 Hertfordshire 62 77 45 64 95 
			 Humberside 147 132 116 107 90 
			 Kent 389 308 334 335 307 
			 Lancashire 303 327 331 257 192 
			 Leicestershire 138 143 107 126 121 
			 Lincolnshire 110 80 82 86 80 
			 London, City of 24 9 12 9 5 
			 Merseyside 171 84 113 112 141 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,897 1,827 1,811 1,492 - 
			 Norfolk 120 79 68 80 85 
			 Northamptonshire 104 126 109 62 58 
			 Northumbria 579 528 511 511 306 
			 North Wales 76 94 140 112 62 
			 North Yorkshire - 47 55 54 35 
			 Nottinghamshire 110 212 159 137 161 
			 South Wales 178 177 146 154 121 
			 South Yorkshire 112 58 78 63 59 
			 Staffordshire 108 96 83 22 79 
			 Suffolk 31 33 67 52 44 
			 Surrey 137 130 152 128 135 
			 Sussex 310 345 224 178 168 
			 Thames Valley 179 198 207 231 193 
			 Warwickshire 61 65 52 57 2 
			 West Mercia 91 100 159 165 163 
			 West Midlands 678 471 276 406 423 
			 West Yorkshire 433 351 286 238 274 
			 Wiltshire 66 77 63 67 75 
			 ‘-’ Data not available. Force not able to supply data at time of collection. 1 These figures are based upon self-reported assault data held within police forces’ human resource or health and safety systems. These figures include assaults which result in: a. Serious injury-those assaults for which the charge would be under Section 18-wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and Section 20 Offences Against the Person Act 1861-inflicting grievous bodily harm, without intent and malicious wounding. b. Minor injury-those assaults for which the charge would be under Section 47 Offences Against the Persons Act-assault occasioning actual bodily harm, Section 38 Offences Against the Person Act-assault with intent to resist, Sections 89(1)-assault on a constable and assault on person assisting a constable and 89(2) Police Act 1995-resisting or wilfully obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty and Section 39 Criminal Justice Act 1988-common assault and battery. c. No injury. These figures also include verbal threats and attempts of assault which are perceived to have genuine intent. Recording practices may vary over time and between forces. 2 Includes assaults on police officers on duty as well as those assaults on officers off duty, while acting in their capacity as police officers. 3 These figures are not regularly published; they have not been verified by police forces and should be treated as provisional.

Civil Disorder: Compensation

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received regarding the amount of compensation that would be received by businesses for damages from rioting under the proposed reforms to the Riot (Damages) Act 1886; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: A number of organisations responded to the recent public consultation on reform of the Riot (Damages) Act. The consultation ran from 5 June to 1 August. These responses covered the full range of proposals, including the Independent Reviewer’s recommendation to cap compensation based on business turnover. These representations are being considered and the Government’s response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Departmental Records

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used in her Department to decide what historic files should be (a) retained and (b) destroyed; when these criteria were established; and what reviews have been undertaken of these criteria since.

Karen Bradley: The Department’s policy on whether to retain or destroy a file is to follow the cross-governmental guidance provided by The National Archives (TNA) where the length of retention is allocated based on legal or business requirements and historical importance. The result is that files are kept for different lengths of time depending on their content.
	Those files where another Government Department is the policy lead or which contain minimal or duplicated content are kept for the shortest period before destruction. This period could be up to 10 years. Those which contain papers relating to issues such as legislation, major policies or notable events may be kept for up to 25 years with some files being transferred to TNA following a review of their importance in line with policy and their value for future historical research. These arrangements have been in place since 1982, with the most recent review of procedures having taken place in 2010.

NATO

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the cost of policing the NATO summit in Newport.

Michael Penning: The majority of the summit costs will be met by Her Majesty's Government. The overall final costs are expected to be reported formally after the summit has concluded.

Police: St Helena

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources UK police forces provided to the police service of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The Home Office does not hold information on all official visits by UK police officers to Saint Helena. However, since January 2009, under section 26 of the Police Act (1996), the Home Office has authorised deployments of three UK police officers to St Helena to provide advice to the St Helena police: a detective constable in 2010 and a chief superintendent and detective constable in 2013.

Police: Surveillance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safeguards have been put in place to prevent undercover police officers from forming sexual relationships with those they are investigating.

Michael Penning: The Code of Ethics, published by the College of Policing on 15 July 2014, sets out the principles and the standards of professional behaviour expected of all police officers in England and Wales. The Code of Ethics makes clear that police officers must:
	“not engage in sexual conduct or other inappropriate behaviour when on duty.”
	The revised Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Codes of Practice were laid in Parliament on 22 July 2014. The revised Codes of Practice make it clear that, in the same way as other police officers, all undercover officers must comply and uphold the principles and standards set out in the Code of Ethics.

Special Constables

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Special Constables in the (a) Metropolitan Police and (b) Greater Manchester Police have been subject to disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five years; and how many such officers were subsequently relieved of their duties following such proceedings.

Michael Penning: The Home Office does not hold information on the number of special constables that have been subject to disciplinary proceedings, nor those who were subsequently relieved of their duties following such proceedings. However, the Home Office does collect statistics on the number of special constables that have been dismissed and figures for (a) and (b) have been provided in the following table. The reasons for dismissal cannot be identified.
	
		
			 Number of special constables (headcount) dismissed1 by Greater Manchester police and the Metropolitan police, 2009-10 to 2013-142 
			  2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 
			 Greater Manchester police 0 6 1 3 0 
			 Metropolitan police 5 10 6 18 44 
			 1 Includes members of staff required to resign and staff whose contract has been terminated. 2 These figures are not regularly published; they have not been verified by police forces and should be treated as provisional.

TREASURY

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether households comprising (a) one disabled parent unable to work and another parent in work and (b) a single disabled parent will be entitled to receive help through tax free childcare.

Priti Patel: Details of the eligibility criteria for Tax-Free Childcare can be found in Chapter 2 of ‘Delivering Tax-free Childcare: the Government's response to the consultation on design and operation’:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/318953/PU1607_Tax_free_Childcare _response.pdf

Credit: Interest Rates

Mike Kane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of payday firms that will be in operation and (b) the projected consumer demand for payday loans in (i) 2015, (ii) 2016 and (iii) 2017.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market. Responsibility for consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.
	In the FCA's consultation paper on the cap on the cost of payday loans, the FCA assesses that its proposals will lead to a risk of contraction in both the online and high-street markets. FCA modelling suggests that its cap proposals would mean at least one high street firm would continue to offer payday loans and at least the three largest online firms continuing in the market, although the FCA expects that more firms will be able to adapt their businesses to operate under the price cap and remain in the market.

Credit: Interest Rates

Mike Kane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis his Department has made of the performance of credit caps on payday lending firms in operation in (a) the USA, (b) Canada and (c) Australia.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government legislated to require the FCA to introduce a cap on the cost of payday loans, to protect consumers from unfair costs.
	In making this decision the government considered the international evidence in support of a cap. As part of its work to design a cap to meet the needs of UK consumers, the FCA took into account international comparators conducting detailed case studies on experiences of price cap setting in Australia, Canada, US, Finland and Japan. The FCA spoke to international regulators and experts to understand the rationale and designs of price caps, as well as the impact they had on consumers and industry in these countries.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by his Department since May 2010.

David Gauke: Details of all current EU legislation are on the Euro-Lex website:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/browse/directories/legislation.html
	We do not hold a central record of the EU directives the Treasury has transposed into UK law since 2010 nor a record of all EU regulations that came into effect during that period.

Gold: Prices

Mark Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2014, Official Report, column 121W, on gold prices, if he will request that the review into the operation of the gold market consider the appropriateness of allowing and encouraging gold investments within ISAs.

Andrea Leadsom: The Fair and Effective Markets Review, which has been tasked with considering how to raise standards in fixed income, currency and commodity markets, has been in operation since June 2014. The terms of reference for the FEMR can be found at
	http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/news/2014/tor.pdf
	At this time, the Government has no plans to amend the terms of reference.

NATO

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government will repay additional costs incurred as a result of hosting the NATO Summit by (a) the Welsh government, (b) Welsh local authorities and (c) Welsh police forces.

Danny Alexander: In line with established arrangements for funding comparable events, the general principle is that costs directly related to the event, such as those directly attributable to infrastructure and policing for specific supporting activities at the summit and the UK role in hosting, will be met by the UK Government. However, additional costs which in the devolved context normally fall under the remit of the devolved Administration are expected to be met from within existing budgets.

Revenue and Customs

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many HM Revenue and Customs staff worked in the Personal Tax (Operations) Directorate in July 2014; and what his forecast is of the number working in that Directorate in (a) October 2014, (b) January 2015, (c) April 2015, (d) July 2015, (e) October 2015, (f) January 2016 and (g) April 2016.

David Gauke: The Department does not generally release staffing figures at a Directorate level.

Tobacco

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many arrests HM Revenue and Customs has made in (a) Medway and (b) Kent for offences relating to the sale of illicit cigarettes in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many occasions a lottery retailing licence has been removed for selling illicit (a) cigarettes and (b) alcohol in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  on how many occasions HM Revenue and Customs has formally objected to the renewal of a retailer's alcohol licence for selling illicit tobacco in each of the last 10 years.

Priti Patel: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Criminal Investigation (CI) is responsible for carrying out enforcement action to seize non duty paid alcohol and cigarettes, be they illicit or otherwise. Our Management Information (MI) does not differentiate between the different types of cigarettes or alcohol and we do not provide data on a regional basis, only national statistics. HMRC CI do record the number of arrests made but again this data is not differentiated between the different types of cigarettes or alcohol and we do not provide data on a regional basis only national statistics.
	HMRC is not responsible for making an application to the courts for the revoking of a trader’s retail alcohol licence: that remains the responsibility of the appropriate Trading Standards office. Normally Trading Standards Officers will accompany HMRC CI officers when they visit a premises suspected of having non duty paid or illicit tobacco or alcohol products. If such products are found, then they can evidence the fact and take such action they deem appropriate. HMRC CI MI does not capture such referrals nor the results of any action that may be taken by the appropriate authority.
	Similarly HMRC are not responsible for terminating a traders National Lottery Licence: that remains the responsibility of Camelot. Where HMRC CI seize non paid or illicit tobacco or alcohol products, there is a protocol for Camelot to be notified so they can take such action they deem appropriate. HMRC CI MI does not capture such referrals nor the results of any action that may be taken by the appropriate authority.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of cigarettes on which tax has not been paid in (a) Gillingham and Rainham constituency, (b) Kent and (c) England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Priti Patel: Estimates of the volume losses associated with the illicit market for cigarettes for the period 2008-09 to 2012-13 are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap estimates: 2012-13’. The figures are available in table 1.1.
	These estimates cannot be disaggregated by the type of illicit activity, e.g. through smuggling, counterfeiting or other fraud, or by any geographical level lower than the UK.
	The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the 'Methodological Annex for Measuring Tax Gaps 2013'.
	The “Tobacco Tax Gap estimates” can be accessed via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/249543/131009_Publication_of_ Tobacco_Tax_Gap_estimates_2012-13.pdf

TRANSPORT

Buses: Tyres

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he plans to publish the conclusions to research into tyre-ageing on buses and coaches that he commissioned in December 2013.

Claire Perry: My officials have consulted with experts from the British and the European tyre manufacturing industry who have provided consistent advice that chronological age is not an indicator of a tyre’s mechanical properties. Further research is currently being planned and the outcomes will be available next year.

Cycleways

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many segregated bicycle lanes have been constructed in England in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many segregated bicycle lanes have been constructed in England in each of the last 20 years.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport does not centrally hold figures for how many segregated bicycle lanes have been constructed over the last twenty years. The Department has provided significantly more funding than the previous administration to local authorities to implement cycling schemes, including segregated bicycle lanes, for instance through the Cycling Ambition Grants, Local Sustainable Transport Fund and Local Growth Fund.

Directly Operated Railways

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what total mobilisation costs have been incurred by each franchise operated by Directly Operated Railways since 6 May 2010.

Claire Perry: The only franchise operated by Directly Operated Railways (DOR) since 6 May 2010 is InterCity East Coast. The costs for mobilising DOR to take over the running of that franchise in November 2009, as reported by the National Audit Office (NAO), were £5.6 million. The full NAO report was published 22 March 2011 and is available on the NAO website at:
	http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/1011824.pdf

Driving: Licensing

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving licence (a) applications and (b) renewals breached the target timeframe for processing in each of the last five years; and in how many such cases the breach arose as a result of delays in medical assessments.

Claire Perry: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold separate figures for applications for a driving licence and renewal applications which missed the target for processing. However, the total number of driving licence applications where the target time for processing has been breached is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Total number of all driving licence applications received including applications to renew a driving licence Total number of applications for a driving licence, including applications to renew a licence, where the target was missed Total number of applications for a driving licence, including applications to renew a licence, where the target was missed due to medical investigations 
			 2009-10 8,794,140 184,398 48,146 
			 2010-11 9,716,576 318,982 58,825 
			 2011-12 9,834,914 98,086 57,552 
			 2012-13 9,769,331 194,751 77,764 
			 2013-14 10,233,837 241,437 63,963 
		
	
	The number of applications and renewal applications where the target was missed due to medical investigations also includes cases where the DVLA has been notified of a medical condition which requires further investigation. However, these notifications were not necessarily associated with an application for a driving licence or an application to renew a licence.

Driving: Licensing

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving licence (a) applications and (b) renewals the DVLA has received in each of the last five years.

Claire Perry: The number of driving licence applications and applications to renew a licence received at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in the last five years is set out in the table below:
	
		
			  Total number of all driving licence applications received including applications to renew a driving licence Total number of applications received to renew a driving licence 
			 2009-10 8,794,140 3,164,424 
			 2010-11 9,716,576 4,113,264 
			 2011-12 9,834,914 4,272,278 
			 2012-13 9,769,331 4,271,609 
			 2013-14 10,233,837 4,315,268

Driving: Licensing

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the current target timeframe is for processing of driving licence (a) applications and (b) renewals; and whether the same timeframe applies in the case of licences that have a medical test as part of the application.

Claire Perry: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) targets for processing driving licence applications are to deliver:
	98% of first provisional driving licences within eight working days;
	98% of vocational driving licences within eight working days; and
	98% of all other driving licence applications, including renewal applications within 10 working days
	Where a driving licence application requires medical investigations, the target is to conclude 90% of all cases and make a licensing decision within 90 working days.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by his Department since May 2010.

Claire Perry: The Department for Transport has transposed 44 EU directives since May 2010. This number comprises fully transposed directives which originated from the European Commission’s Directorate General Mobility and Transport.
	The Department for Transport has been tracking EU regulations since 8 July 2010. Since that date, 164 EU regulations in the Department for Transport’s area of responsibility have come into effect.
	Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU regulations that came into force before 08/07/2010, can be found on the Commission’s website:
	http://old.eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm
	for older legislation and
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en
	for legislation since 1 April 2014.

Ferries: Safety

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the current level of compliance is with the (a) Merchant Shipping (Weighing of Goods Vehicles and other Cargo) Regulations 1988, (b) Merchant Shipping (Weighing of Goods Vehicles and other Cargo) (Amendment) Regulations 1989 and (c) Merchant Shipping (Weighing of Goods Vehicles and other Cargo) (Application to non-UK Ships) Regulations 1989 at each UK port licensed to operate passenger ferry services.

John Hayes: Shipping companies are required to have in place procedures for ensuring that the weighed weights of trucks are used for stability calculations, and these procedures are documented in the ships Safety Management System which is audited regularly by surveyors of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). MCA surveyors inspect car ferries in operation, and part of the checks confirm that the ships' masters are correctly using the weight information supplied by weighbridges.
	As a result of these proactive audit process the MCA does not routinely collect information on compliance with the Merchant Shipping (Weighing of Goods Vehicles and other Cargo) Regulations 1988 (as amended).

Ferries: Safety

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the current level of compliance is with the Merchant Shipping (Emergency Equipment Lockers for Ro/Ro Passenger Ships) Regulations 1988 amongst ship owners operating licensed passenger ferry services from UK ports; what the penalties are for non-compliance; and if he will publish a list of all instances of non-compliance with these regulations recorded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency since 1988.

John Hayes: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) does not record the information in the format requested.
	The MCA does record non-compliance, or deficiencies, of items for which there are specific codes, for example emergency lighting. The Emergency Equipment Lockers do not have a specific code, and items similar to those kept in the Emergency Equipment Locker may be located in other parts of the ship. These may need to be recorded as non-compliant although, the records do not indicate whether such deficiencies relate to equipment in one of the Emergency Equipment Lockers or elsewhere in the ship.
	The penalties for non-compliance are:
	‘the owner and master of the ship shall each be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both.’
	Level 5 is currently set at £5,000.

Malaysia Airlines

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with the Civil Aviation Authority the lessons to be learned following the loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority are already working closely together in considering the impact and lessons learned from flight MH17. The UK Government is also playing an active role in the taskforce set up by the International Civil Aviation Organisation to consider the international management of overflight risks in conflict zones.

Merseyrail

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether Merseyrail has an appropriate emergency response plan to deal with a terrorist attack on the rail network; and on what date the last Merseyrail emergency response drill was carried out.

Claire Perry: The National Railways Security Programme (NRSP) requires all Train Operating Companies, including Merseyrail, to have response procedures in place to respond to any security incidents on their station and trains and to review these contingency plans annually. It also recommends that they exercise these plans on an annual basis. The Department does not collect information on the frequency of exercises because this is a matter for decision by the rail operators within the framework set by the NRSP.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there is a mechanism to enable the transfer of Network Rail's Control Period 6 funding into Control Period 5; and whether such a mechanism has been used.

Claire Perry: Network Rail's funding requirement for Control Period 5 was settled in the Office of Rail Regulation's Final Determination for 2014-19 published in October 2013. Network Rail has committed to deliver its obligations within this level of funding. Were more funding ultimately required to deliver contracted obligations at an efficient cost, this would be a matter for the regulator to discuss with the Secretary of State. Funding for the next Control Period (2019-24) will not be determined until the regulator completes its next periodic review in 2018.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he expects to introduce legislation to make Network Rail subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Claire Perry: The Government and Network Rail have agreed that Network Rail will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to its public functions. This requires secondary legislation, which the Government will bring forward at the next opportunity with the intention of making Network Rail subject to the Freedom of Information Act by April 2015.
	Before then Network Rail will continue to exercise transparency to the public through its Transparency Strategy, which includes a voluntary information publication scheme. This was introduced in June 2012 to make the company more transparent and accountable to the wider public.

Nottingham-Lincoln Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement on improvements to the Nottingham to Lincoln line.

Claire Perry: My officials have been working with East Midlands Trains, local authorities, LEPs and Newark Business Club, in order to develop proposals to provide an improved train service for passengers travelling between Nottingham and Lincoln, following service cuts overseen by the previous Government.
	We are hopeful that a decision will be made in the coming weeks.

Pedestrian Crossings

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the recommendations contained in the report, A review of pedestrian walking speeds and time needed to cross the road, published by Living Streets and Transport Research Laboratory on 1 September 2014.

Robert Goodwill: The Department notes the recommendation that the relevant guidance on this subject should be updated.
	The Department expects to bring the successor to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, which will include all pedestrian crossing types, into force in 2015 and once that is complete will consider the need to update existing guidance.

Railways

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the process is for the review of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage; when that review will be completed; and whether there will be consultation with (a) consumer groups and (b) the general public about the outcome of that review.

Claire Perry: The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) is responsible for the National Rail Conditions of Carriage (NRCoC). The NRCoC is a Schedule to the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA), an agreement between train operators that sets out arrangements for the carriage of passengers and the retailing of tickets. The written approval of the Secretary of State for Transport is required before any changes can be made to the NRCoC.
	ATOC is currently reviewing the NRCoC, with a view to publishing a revised version in spring 2015. ATOC has stated that it intends to consult passenger groups (including Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch) on any changes it proposes to make to the current NRCoC before submitting the revised version to the Secretary of State for approval.

Railways: North of England

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with rolling stock companies on the replacement or refurbishment of Pacer units as part of the Northern/TPE franchise consultation.

Claire Perry: We expect to require bidders for the Northern and TPE franchises to put forward options for replacing Pacer units, which for many are a source of dissatisfaction with rail services in the north. The Secretary of State for Transport has not had any discussions with rolling stock companies regarding this as it is a matter for train operators.

Rescue Services

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 of 10 February 2014, reference F0001198, for what reasons the Maritime and Coastguard Agency cannot attribute incidents to any particular Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

John Hayes: The instances whereby Coastguard incidents cannot be attributed to any particular Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) are caused when an incident is created with no attendant position.
	These may be inland incidents where a MRCC was advised but not involved, such as the use of a Search and Rescue Helicopter for a non-maritime task, or where an incident was logged with no certainty of the position of the casualty.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local highways authorities are not members of maintenance alliances.

Robert Goodwill: The Department does not hold the information on which local highway authorities are members or not of maintenance alliances as it is for each highway authority to decide on whether they wish to become a member.
	The Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme does, however, hold information on each alliance that has been formed and this can be seen at the following weblink:
	http://www.highwaysefficiency.org.uk/connect-and-share/connect/collaborative-alliances.html
	In July 2012 the Programme published a toolkit which promotes the benefits of highway authorities working collaboratively with other authorities as part of an alliance. This toolkit can be found at the following weblink:
	http://www.highwaysefficiency.org.uk/efficiency-resources/collaboration--change/local-highway-authorities-collaborative-alliances-toolkit.html

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local highways authorities do not use the pothole repair methods recommended the highways maintenance efficiency programme report, Prevention and a Better Cure: Potholes Review, published in April 2012.

Robert Goodwill: The Department encourages local highway authorities to adopt the recommendations and approaches set out in the Pothole Review Report. Applications submitted by local highway authorities through the £200 million Pothole Fund announced in the Budget of March 2014 demonstrated that the majority of authorities had implemented recommendations in the Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme report.
	It is, however, for each local highway authority to decide on the methods to be applied to pothole repairs based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the National Audit Office report, maintaining strategic infrastructure: roads, what savings, under what headings, the Highways Agency has made in each of the last three financial years; and what savings are forecast for 2014-15.

John Hayes: The savings achieved in the past three years (2011/12 to 2013/14) total £136 million. The forecast for 2014/15 is £102 million (remains in line with the forecast in the June NAO report). This would total savings of £238 million for the four year SR10 period ending in 2014/15. Almost two thirds of the total savings will be achieved through maintenance contracts. See following table.
	
		
			 Highways Agency Savings 
			 £ million 
			  Actual  
			  2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 Total SR10 Act/Fcast 
			 Savings on Maintenance Contracts (6) 33 52 74 153 
			 Other (Incl Increased use of in house-staff) 19 19 19 28 85 
			 Total Savings 13 52 71 102 238 
		
	
	In reference to the National Audit Office (NAO) report, ‘maintaining infrastructure: roads’, the Highways Agency took a range of actions to achieve the savings and budget reductions set in the Spending Review 2010 (SR10). The main action relating to maintenance was; to renegotiate its existing and continuing maintenance contracts to give an affordable level of service; and it also developed a new type of contract in which it specified outcomes rather than prescribing maintenance activities. When maintenance contracts are renewed they are negotiated using the new type of contract. The majority of savings were anticipated to be achieved through the contract renegotiations.
	Another area of savings identified in NAO report was the use of in-house staff to cover areas of work such as commercial and asset management.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the scope for the Highways Agency and local highways authorities to share departments, plant and staff and other resources used by their contractors; and what estimate he has made of the savings arising from such integration of resources.

Robert Goodwill: While no assessment or estimate of savings has been made in respect of the Highways Agency and local highway authorities integrating services, the Highways Agency takes advantage of opportunities to share resources with local authorities where it is able to do so and it is appropriate.

Roads: West Midlands

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department has allocated to each local authority in the West Midlands for road improvement in each of the last five years.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport provides funding to local highway authorities through a number of programmes which can be used to improve local roads.
	The following table provides the funding allocated to the West Midlands authorities since 2010-11. This funding includes Integrated Transport Block, Maintenance Block, Additional Block funding, the Pothole Fund, Severe Weather funding, Local Major Projects and the Local Pinch Point Fund.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Authority 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 
			 Herefordshire 13.610 12.929 9.985 11.376 16.756 
			 Shropshire 19.665 18.988 14.792 16.700 19.612 
			 Staffordshire 24.457 26.448 21.113 27.180 31.187 
			 Stoke on Trent 4.653 4.423 3.681 3.973 5.163 
			 Telford and Wrekin 4.296 4.520 3.682 5.202 4.836 
			 Warwickshire 16.243 16.173 13.504 17.593 22.359 
			 Worcestershire 17.423 19.106 18.152 21.849 24.221 
			 CENTRO—West Midlands ITA 66.783 48.727 45.791 42.295 53.626 
			 Birmingham1 5.125 2.683 0 7.500 5.700 
			 Coventry2 0.298 0.488 0 2.411 4.870 
			 Dudley2 0.812 1.125 0.100 0.473 1.438 
			 Sandwell2 7.750 8.718 3.800 3.420 1.461 
			 Solihull2 0.223 0.453 0 0.495 3.696 
			 Walsall2 0.208 0.522 0 0.352 0.888 
			 Wolverhampton2 0.648 0.446 0 1.688 3.078 
			 1 Birmingham have not received block or additional funding for highways maintenance since April 2011 as their PFI project became operational in June 2010. 2 The capital block funding for all the Councils that form the Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) is allocated to the ITA, however additional funding for highways maintenance, the Pothole Fund, severe weather funding, Local Major Projects and the Local Pinch Point Fund is paid directly to each Council. 
		
	
	In addition the Department is providing £625 million to Birmingham city council for their Highways Maintenance PFI project which became operational in 2010 for a 25 year period. Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding which is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant for highway improvements.

Roads: Wildlife

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he gives on procedures to be followed by highways authorities and police forces with respect to the identification of deceased animals on the road network.

Robert Goodwill: No specific guidance has been provided on this subject.
	Section 7.17 of the Highways Agency’s Network Management Manual (NMM)
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/nmm_rwsc/docs/nmm_part_7a.pdf
	describes processes that must be followed when canine remains are found on the strategic road network although it does also recognise that it is impossible to guarantee that remains can be fully identified due to the high speed nature of the Agency’s roads.
	Local highway authorities also remove dead animals from all roads and public spaces for which they are responsible. This includes wild animals such as badgers, foxes, and deer along with domestic pets such as cats and dogs. If pets are found, authorities try to identify the owners if the pet has a collar or microchip.

Shipping: Registration

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) annual budget was for promoting the UK Shipping Register internationally to encourage ship owners to register their ships in the UK in each year since 2009-10; and what the MCA's budget is for such work in 2015-16;
	(2)  how many overseas visit trips (a) Ministers, (b) officials in his Department and (c) officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have undertaken in each year since 2009-10 to promote the UK Shipping Register to ship owners; and what the (i) destination and (ii) cost was of each such trip.

John Hayes: The table shows the overseas visits made by officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to promote the UK Shipping Register (UKSR) to ship owners since 2009-10. It also shows the cost per year for these trips and the MCA’s planned expenditure for promoting the UKSR.
	The expenditure in 2013 -14 was higher than originally planned because of the decision to raise the profile of the UKSR in international markets, in particular China and the Far East. This included attendance by UKSR officials at shipping industry and ship building trade shows, and also official receptions for shipping industry leaders at UK missions overseas.
	Ministers attended the events in Athens in June 2012 and 2013, and Singapore in February 2014 with the MCA. Those attendances were part of a wider programme of events involving shipping and transport in general. Costing the element involved in the promotion of the UK Shipping register is not possible.
	
		
			  2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 
			 April — — — Thailand and Germany Singapore and India 
			 May — — Oslo Vietnam — 
			 June Oslo Athens Germany Athens Oslo and Athens 
		
	
	
		
			 July — — — — — 
			 August — — — — Germany 
			 September — Germany Germany Germany — 
			 October — — India — — 
			 November Rotterdam — Shanghai — Athens and Singapore 
			 December Shanghai — Hong Kong — Shanghai 
			 January — — — — — 
			 February — — — Tokyo and Copenhagen Singapore and Germany 
			 March — — Germany — — 
			       
			 Planned expenditure £44,500 £32,400 £25,000 £21,739 £19,284 
			 Total spend £16,048.57 £5,082.48 £26,040.48 £19,083.68 £40,272.52

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what timetable his Department plans to phase out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.

Claire Perry: The process for phasing out telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance is now well advanced. There is one legacy 0845 850 0095 DVLA Drivers Medical Enquiries fax number published on GOV.UK which is retained for legacy reasons in case some literature with this number is still in circulation. Other numbers have transitioned to 0300 numbers which are charged at standard geographic rate (the same as 01 or 02 numbers) and are free as part of “inclusive minute” packages. In response to (b) there are no 03 and 08 combinations.

Television

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Claire Perry: The requested information is provided as follows.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Organisational Unit (a) 2013 (b) 2014 (to date) 
			 London headquarters — 2,788 
			 Rail Accident Investigation Branch — 96 
			 Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency1 3,120 2,729 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 4,423 — 
			 1 Includes data for former Driving Standards Agency and Vehicle Operator Services Agency

UK Chamber of Shipping

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials from the UK Chamber of Shipping have been seconded to work in his Department since May 2010; and in what areas of maritime policy each such member of staff has been so employed.

Claire Perry: No officials from the UK Chamber of Shipping have been seconded to work in the Department for Transport since May 2010. The Department works very closely with the UK Chamber on many key aspects of maritime policy, and discussions with them are on an ongoing basis. The Department is also keen to increase secondment opportunities more generally with transport industries, both encouraging incoming secondees to the Department, and outward secondments for staff.